Tzu Kuan Yang (Neal)
4–10 May 2026
In the quiet machinery of everyday service, a simple paper napkin silently absorbs traces of labour, emotion, resilience and human dignity before vanishing into waste.
After graduating from the Royal College of Art, curator Tzu Kuan Yang (Neal) worked as a hotel concierge in London. A single handwritten note left upon such a napkin brought an unexpected moment of recognition. This encounter inspired a wider inquiry into the invisible lives shaped by service work. Soft Withness: 50 Stories of Us gathers forty-nine international artists who each created an original work directly on a disposable paper napkin.
The exhibition explores the quiet dignity within overlooked labour, the power of shared memory, and the subtle resistance found in diaspora and service experiences. It assembles these intimate stories into a collective testimony of endurance, transforming ephemeral gestures of a fast-consumption era into something lasting and meaningful. In doing so, the project invites every visitor to acknowledge the human presence that lingers in what is so often unseen.
We are most grateful to the participating artists whose contributions have made this possible: @alicepayen_ @a.kitsu @amychenfly @andrea_honsberg @a.silvavignoli @anneharris.painting @a_knee___ @beatrizsantosart @bei.yii @breeze.ishi @berziga_dien_ @1dilemma_is_enough @dinajinbae @enxiliu @ethancaflisch @fanie_nani @gary_stuff @gdeorgia @harin_jade.jeon @xinhwang @studiodouglass @isabellaamram janvalik_now @greaves.jude @jjunakim @kimmiejungah @kate.mcclenaghen @lexiahachtmann @louisebenton.artist @lylsd_ @fine_art_by_mire @nathaniel_trost @ned_elli0tt @nelsonhernandez.cl @nikitaandrejev @niovi15 @oishimars @oliverhoffmeisterart @papageorgiou.savvas__ shanapoly @todayisoohyun @ching_ching988 @enovalinor @yakiwang33 @jyuemim @zwing_art @n1lee_e @2819yjt @walkthecatt
Roha Gallery 