Sin Wai Kin: Still Life
Date
22 May 2026 - 30 August 2026
Location
Frans Hals Museum
The Frans Hals Museum presents the very first Dutch solo presentation of the internationally renowned artist Sin Wai Kin. In Sin Wai Kin: Still Life, the moving portraits enter into a dialogue with the museum’s collection.
Paintings, glamour and science fiction
In Sin Wai Kin: Still Life, the symbolism of 17th-century painting, the glamour of drag and science fiction merge. In their oeuvre, Sin regularly refers to world-famous works of art, such as Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Mona Lisa, Caravaggio’s painting of the self-righteous Narcissus, Picasso’s anti-war painting Guernica, and Man Ray’s black-and-white photography. These works enter into a dialogue with the permanent collection of the Frans Hals Museum, including paintings by Frans Hals, Judith Leyster and Leo Gestel.
'Storytelling is central to my oeuvre: how have we created new realities and memories in the course of art history, for example in the way we are allowed or allow ourselves to be portrayed?'
- Sin Wai Kin
New work
Commissioned by the Frans Hals Museum, Sin also makes new work, which will be shown for the first time during the presentation. In the video artwork Still Life (2026), the artist’s parents are given the leading role. They are talking to each other over a Cantonese meal, surrounded by classic vanitas and food still lifes from the collection of the Frans Hals Museum.
About Sin Wai Kin
Artist Sin Wai Kin (1991, Toronto, Canada) brings fantasy to life in moving images. Sin often plays a leading role in their own work, using make-up and costumes to creat various characters. Sin was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2022; they are in the collections of Tate Modern and the British Museum, among others.
