Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung
: The Travelogue of Dr. Brain Damages
The Downtown Art Gallery, Bucknell University
September 1 – December 21, 2012
This solo exhibition features the art of Hong Kong-born, New York-based contemporary artist Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung. Hung’s works are historically rooted in political satire, such as the cartoons of John Heartfield who lampooned Hitler in the 1940’s. Hung’s work simultaneously manifests the glitz-blitz of contemporary pop and Internet culture. This collection of digital prints looks at the impact of Internet censorship on Chinese culture with a special nod to the Chinese tradition of coding political speech in order to avoid persecution. The profanity and video game references that might appear juvenile in another context, here carry political purpose and real consequences. Hung’s works do not water down this purpose with didactic lessons, but visually drive it home with an activist passion. With his usual incisive humor, Hung packs these works with cross-cultural visual and linguistic puns to create layers of meaning.
Richard Rinehart Director