Artist Profiles

Hong Hao

Hong Hao (born 1965 in Beijing) is a highly independent artist, not forming part of any school. His work is innovative, astute and satirical. Much of his work deals with illusion, appearance and pre-conception. He has spent many years working on a book of maps, called The Scriptures, that reshapes the world according to different forces. One map, New World Order, shows the world rearranged geographically and the names of large corporations used to name the countries. Another replaces the names of capital cities with popular expressions or words, yet another shows nuclear arms stationed in selected sites the world over. Hong Hao’s intent is to confuse and thus challenge orthodox perceptions. He continues this challenge with great irony and less foreboding in his photographic series “Beijing Tour Guide” 1999-2000. His newest photographic series, “My Things” 2002-2004, opens up a new realm of personal expression for the artist. The photographs are composed of thousands of scanned images of objects from his own life. These commonplace things are arranged by the artist using a computer. There is no traditional photo taken by a camera. The objects are shown life size and some represent over 20 years of accumulation on the part of the artist. These micro universes, from afar like satellite photos, close up invite a moment of intimacy, a glimpse into the life of the artist, and a chance to discover a slice of contemporary China.

Other Works By This Artist [ click to view larger images ]