esea contemporary is pleased to present ‘Smooth Sailing, 一路順風’, the first institutional solo exhibition by Marcos Kueh—a Netherlands-based artist whose richly layered textile works are gaining increasing recognition on the international stage. This exhibition marks a significant evolution in Kueh’s practice, introducing new materials and processes while deepening his ongoing exploration of cross-cultural histories, diasporic identity, and collective memory.
Developed during Kueh’s recent residency with esea contemporary, where he undertook research in The Whitworth’s internationally renowned textile collection, ‘Smooth Sailing, 一路順風’ explores the realities and afterlives of migration in search of a better future. The exhibition’s title draws from the Chinese phrase 一路順風 (yī lù shùn fēng), which literally means ‘may the wind be smooth along your entire journey.’ It is often used as a parting blessing, conveying hopes for safety, ease, and favourable conditions ahead – particularly for those embarking on uncertain paths. Kueh reflects on this phrase through both personal and historical lenses: his own experiences as a diasporic Chinese Malaysian from Borneo who has migrated to the Netherlands, and broader histories of the textile industry, labour movements, and displacement.
Presented in the main gallery, the centrepiece of the exhibition is a major new immersive installation, also titled 'Smooth Sailing, 一路順風.' Entering through a woven poster that reanimates trade union certificates from Manchester’s People’s History Museum, visitors are met with documents created in the face of exploitation and danger, carrying visions of justice, solidarity, and divine protection. Stepping further inside, the darkened gallery opens into a scene of fracture and endurance: a broken mast and sail lie run aground, while a lone embroidery machine steadily continues working. On the opposite wall hangs deadstock fabric embroidered with well-wishes, Chinese talismans, and vintage business logos.
The exhibition also features a new iteration of ‘Three Contemporary Prosperities', which reimagines the traditional Chinese deities Fú 福, Lù 祿, Shòu 壽 – celestial embodiments of Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity – as hyper-contemporary figures: The Brilliant Billionaire, The Perfect Celebrity, and The Immortal Elder. Presented in the Communal Project Space, this woven work evolves with each display – a millionaire becomes a billionaire, an influencer becomes a celebrity – prompting reflections on how the age-old aspirations of a ‘good life’ are shaped by shifting societal desires.
Together, these works chart quiet currents that carry threads of longing and resilience across oceans and generations, navigating the turning tides between departure and return, loss and reinvention. Anchored in textile and sculptural language, the exhibition considers how cultural memory and moral frameworks endure – or unravel – across shifting geographies.
‘Smooth Sailing, 一路順風’ is co-commissioned by esea contemporary, Manchester Metropolitan University, and the Centre for Heritage, Arts and Textile (CHAT), Hong Kong SAR. The exhibition is generously supported by the Mondriaan Fund, the Henry Moore Foundation, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Galerie Ron Mandos, Arts Council England, and the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
Marcos Kueh is an artist from Sarawak, Borneo Malaysia, currently living and working in the Netherlands. His practice centres on textiles as a medium for storytelling, drawing from Borneo’s ancestral weaving traditions to explore themes of identity, labour, and globalisation.
Growing up in a post-colonial developing country, Kueh has long been engaged with questions of identity and how Malaysia is perceived – whether through colonial depictions in museums or stylised narratives in tourism advertising. His work seeks to reconcile these representations with his lived experience growing up in Borneo, navigating the pressures of modernity and globalisation. He uses weaving to encode contemporary legends from everyday life, just as the ancestors of Borneo did with their dreams and stories before the arrival of written alphabets from the West.
Kueh holds a Bachelor’s in Graphic and Textile Design from the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, completed in 2022. That same year, he was awarded the Ron Mandos Young Blood Award, and in 2023 he was named Young Designer of the Year by the Dutch Design Awards. His works are held in the collections of Museum Voorlinden and the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Recent exhibitions include Manifesta 15 in Barcelona; Kunstinstituut Melly in Rotterdam; The Backroom, Kuala Lumpur; and the National Art Gallery Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
