Press Release

Zhang Hao, “The Politics of Translation No.028,” oil on paper, 76 x 53 cm, 2010

From the day we are born, society imprints behavior patterns upon us through positive reinforcement. Cry and someone will change your nappy or give you food. Make cute faces and adults will give you attention and praise. Then, when we get to school, we are taught to sit in our desks, share our toys, participate in class, respect our classmates, and, most importantly, to listen to the teacher.

Magdalen Wong, “Build Break Bricks,” color video loop with sound, 2011

Be they good or bad, these habits and patterns become so much part of us that we fail to question them. Often we are completely unaware of their presence. In “Holding Pattern” a group of artists seek to highlight these encoded behaviors, to create awareness, and provide strategies. Magdalen Wong examines issues of gender coding, youth creativity, the possibilities created by randomness, and the conformity-inducing nature of the media machine. Zhang Hao follows this thread by investigating how television and Hollywood act in concert to re-enforce ideas about brand awareness, beauty standards, and other social norms.

Li Haifeng, “Bridge,” oil on canvas, 112x145cm, 2012

Li Haifeng picks up on the mechanisms of conformity, but also presents an alternative: the path of individualism. Meanwhile Jiang Guozhe populates his works with children frolicking in an anarchic fashion in scenes completely devoid of the trappings of society, which take us back to a natural state — a state closer to that from whence we came.

Jiang Guozhe, “Cloud, Moon, Light,” oil on canvas, 110 x 75cm, 2011