HOU JIANAN

Central to Hou Jianan’s practice is the idea that hedonistic tendencies are amplified in and by the age of accelerationist technology. The desire for material and consumption is exponentially expanded as perceivable reality is made brighter, fuller, and more colorful through digital means. Hou’s manipulation of imagery reflects upon this phenomenon; combining digitally saturated compositions with the dimensionality of layered acrylics, the artist inflates certain objects while flattening others, crafting overtones of artificiality evocative of contemporary visual experiences.

The notion of happiness has seemingly mutated in the age of cheap and instant pleasures. The senses are flooded by excessive entertainment, and the result is state of mental paralysis wherein the mind is numb by constant and cyclical consumerist distractions. Within his newest body of works, Hou utilizes the recurring motifs of houses as well as domestic objects such as candles, curtains, and chairs, that he then intersperses with greenery and flora. Fresh and beautiful at first glance, the artworks evoke a false sense of security that is comparable to the fleeting fulfilment obtained from the thrill of automation and fast consumption. Yet, a closer inspection of the painted objects would quickly reveal the intentional falsities shaped by the artist. An indirect reference to the 1998 film “The Truman Show”, the artworks also comprise of artificial skies in the background, not only illumining the boundary to this blissful trap, but bringing to the surface that all that is perceived is but an illusion – one that is here today but will be gone tomorrow.