Chu Hao Pei

Hao Pei is a visual artist whose practice explores the shifting physical, sociological and emotional connections with our natural and urban landscapes. His works shed light on the overlooked and accidental by interweaving the processes of engagement, documentation and research to examine the complexities of environmental and cultural loss (or resurgence) shaped by political, economic and social factors. Hao Pei uses certain methods of documentation and representation to reveal aspects of his subject, while also both concealing and drawing attention to what cannot yet be communicated or understood.

Since 2022 Hao Pei has been developing Nasi Goreng Diplomacy,  an artistic-research project and series delving into the complex political and cultural relations of rice. With Nasi Goreng Diplomacy, Hao Pei moves beyond thinking of rice as an agricultural product towards considering how the simple act of cooking or consuming rice can function as shorthand for larger geopolitcal relationships. By using nasi goreng as a medium for conversation, Hao Pei explores bottom-up diplomacy, engaging with various communities in Southeast Asia.