‘Afterlives: The Weaver, A Chorus, An Archipelago’ is a new group exhibition inspired by the Glasgow 2026 Festival theme of ‘social justice’, and brings together the works of artists Erika Tan, Gogularaajan Rajendran, and Elia Nurvista, looking at the afterlives of colonialism in Southeast Asia. Curated by Alaya Ang, an artist-curator originally from Singapore and now based in Glasgow, the exhibition features works across film, textiles and installation, bringing into dialogue practices that approach these legacies and inherited narratives to reveal obscured or marginalised histories.
This exhibition traces the enduring impacts of colonial systems, particularly in relation to labour, migration, and plantation logics, while attending to the ways these histories continue to shape cultural memory and material conditions today. The works on display ask critical questions about how acts of remembering and acknowledgement might open pathways towards a more just future.
Elia Nurvista is an Indonesian artist and independent researcher based in Yogyakarta. Working across installation, film, performance, workshops, and collective research, her practice examines the politics of food and its entanglements with ecology, labor, colonial histories, and global capitalism. For over a decade, she has explored how food systems shape social and environmental relations, with a particular focus on plantation economies and the palm oil industry through her ongoing project Long Hanging Fruits.
Gogularaajan Rajendran is a Malaysian filmmaker based in Kuala Lumpur. Working across film and installation, his practice explores Malaysian-Indian histories, folklore, and the afterlives of colonialism through a language that blends memory, myth, and the cinematic. His work Coolies’ Chorus reimagines Tamil folksongs once sung by indentured labourers on Malayan plantations, foregrounding voices often erased from official histories.
Erika Tan’s work reflects on the life of Halimah Binte Abdullah, a Malayan weaver who was brought to London for the 1924 British Empire Exhibition, bringing attention to the forgotten and overlooked subjects of empire. Tan’s practice is primarily research-led and manifests in multiple formats (installation, participatory and curatorial projects), with an ongoing engagement with moving image, referencing distributed media in the form of cinema, gallery-based works, internet and digital practices. Evolving from an interest in anthropology and the moving image, the work is often informed by specific cultural, geographical or physical contexts and focuses on the postcolonial, transnational and decolonial. Often working with archival artefacts, exhibition histories, received narratives, contested heritage, subjugated voices and the transnational movement of ideas, people and objects, Tan’s work questions the possibilities of a different future.
Connecting the objects, the making, and the stories that carry across cultures, the exhibition traces the ways these narratives shape material conditions and contemporary cultural memory. ‘Afterlives: The Weaver, A Chorus, An Archipelago’ runs from 10 July till 8 August 2026. There will be a preview event on the evening of 9 July between 17:00 – 19:00 in the gallery. Entry to this event is free, but please book through Eventbrite.
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Notes for Editors
About The Glasgow School of Art
The Glasgow School of Art (GSA) is internationally recognised as one of Europe’s leading independent university-level institutions for education and research in the visual creative disciplines – ranking 8th in the world and 5th in Europe in the QS World University Rankings 2026. Our studio-based, specialist, practice-led teaching, learning, and research draw talented individuals with a shared passion for visual culture and creative production from all over the world.
Originally founded in 1845 as one of the first Government Schools of Design, the School’s history can be traced back to 1753 and the establishment of the Foulis Academy, delivering a European-style art education. Today, the GSA is an international community of over 3,500 students and staff across architecture, design, digital, fine art, and innovation in our campuses in Glasgow and Altyre (in the Scottish Highlands) and a thriving Open Studio programme delivering non-degree provision to over 1,500 students annually.
About Glasgow 2026 Festival
The Glasgow 2026 Festival is a ten-week celebration of Glasgow’s world-renowned culture, creativity and communities. Running from 23 May to 9 August 2026, the city-wide programme will include hundreds of events, performances, artworks and participation opportunities inspired by the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, bringing together culture, sport and community activity which will create experiences that stay with people long after the Games.
Developed and delivered by Glasgow Life in collaboration with Glasgow 2026, and supported by Commonwealth Sport, the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, Sportscotland, Creative Scotland, and VisitScotland, the programme will bring events – the majority free to attend – to every corner of the city, helping ensure the impact of Glasgow 2026 is felt far beyond the sporting competition itself.
A total of 161 artists, cultural organisations, sports clubs and community groups have received support to deliver projects across all 23 wards of the city, following more than 400 applications to the Glasgow 2026 Festival Fund. Backed by a £1.25 million funding initiative, the programme places local people, creativity and participation at the heart of the summer’s celebrations.
Alongside major events including Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Art, Glasgow Mela, Merchant City Festival and partnerships with Piping Live! and Scottish Opera, the programme will showcase world-class contemporary art commissions through Glasgow International and a series of standalone projects. Community celebrations, sports showcases, live performances and opportunities to take part in activities across the city will bring the spirit of the Games into neighbourhoods throughout Glasgow, creating a vibrant summer-long celebration of culture, creativity and sport.
