Huidi Xiang: the maxim of the tomato
04.25.25 – 06.28.25
Opening Reception: Friday, April 25th, 7-10PM
Artist-led walkthrough: Saturday, April 26, Noon
Huidi Xiang, a brooklyn-based sculptor, explores ideas about labor and play, tools and work, often using imagery from the golden era of animation and video games as a point of departure.
For this exhibition, Xiang has created a sculptural installation inspired by the humble tomato pin cushion—a ubiquitous sewing tool found in homes for generations—into a poignant metaphor for the contradictions embedded in care work. Traditionally, the tomato has been associated with health, healing, and prosperity, appearing in folklore as a protective charm and in pop culture as a symbol of recovery. In her research, she went back to her own childhood and the video game series Kirby, where a “Maxim Tomato” can be picked up and consumed to instantly restores a character’s health. The same tomato in the form of a pincushion becomes a site of puncture, pierced over and over by needles— a vessel of both repair and violence.
Xiang’s installation amplifies this tension, reflecting on the hidden costs of care in systems that extract emotional and domestic labor as an endless resource. The exhibition space becomes a “palace of wounded tomatoes”, where 3D-printed stainless steel tomato forms are stabbed by needles pushed in by disembodied hands. Some are split open to reveal a small figure, inspired by the soft, crying “inner child” of Kirby, perhaps sick after consuming too much of these superfoods. On the walls, an oversized needle threads through aluminum tomato silhouettes, both binding and breaking apart the space.
“This project positions the tomato pincushion as a contradiction—both a nurturing tool and a site of piercing and puncture,” Xiang explains. “By exposing the exhaustion, harm, and systemic violence endured by caregivers, I want to challenge their romanticized idea of care.” Xiang’s approach to labor and belief is shaped by her ongoing exploration of capitalism, consumer culture, and video game aesthetics. Her past projects have transformed Animal Crossing gameplay data into sculptural works, tracking the way leisure becomes an obligation and play morphs into labor. Here, her tomatoes are similarly doubled—evoking childhood healing tropes while simultaneously bearing the scars of overuse and exploitation. The work critiques the undervaluation of domestic and emotional labor, particularly the disproportionate burden placed on women, immigrants, and marginalized communities.
About the Artist
Huidi Xiang (b. Chengdu, China) is a sculptor based in Brooklyn, New York. She holds an MFA in Art from Carnegie Mellon University and a BA in Architecture from Rice University. Huidi’s work has been exhibited internationally at venues such as the Bronx Museum, Contemporary Calgary, The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, KAJE, Tutu Gallery, and YveYANG Gallery. She has also created commissioned projects for the Jing’an International Sculpture Project (Shanghai, China, 2024), X Museum Triennial (Beijing, China, 2023), and OCAT Biennale (Shenzhen, China, 2021).
This project was supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.
I WANT TO BELIEVE is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, M&T Bank, the New York State Council on the Arts, and Erie County.
This exhibition is the second in BICA’s series I WANT TO BELIEVE, a trilogy of exhibitions and related programs addressing crises of faith—locally, globally, and within the art world. The series offers three distinct artistic perspectives on faith, optimism, and the power of belief, tailored for a city of true believers.
This series generously supported by:
