Ran Huang: Disruptive Desires, Tranquility, and the Loss of Lucidity
by Long March Space Location: Long March Space
Artist(s): HUANG Ran
Date: 16 Mar - 16 Apr 2012
Huang Ran is the author of visionary videos in which sense of wonder and drama, frailty and a desire for absoluteness, ambiguity and inevitability coexist. The exasperated yet alluring iconography of his works draws the viewer right into the swirl of conflicting emotions in which one has the constant sensation that some marvellous tragedy is about to take place. The pathos that runs through the images of his videos, as in his recent piece Blithe Tragedy, is based on the deconstruction of reality, its transfiguration and transformation into a pantomime whose ephebic protagonists are suspended between their role as chosen victims and (un)conscious executioners. The aesthetic appeal conveyed by the perfect images of his work acts as a counterpoint to the shattered inner world of the characters constantly on the brink of the adyss of their emotions and fears.