Hai-Hsin Huang
My work is both an observation and depiction of contemporary
life, with a specific focus on its seemingly banal aspects. I draw
and paint familiar scenes, taken from family photos and scenes
at tourist attractions or at institutions such as museums, banks,
and barbershops, in order to reveal what lies beneath the surface
of daily habits. To me, most aspects of life have the potential to be
ridiculous, absurd, awkward, funny, tragic, frail, and meaningless
all at once. As part of a generation marked by hedonism, I see
that people seem to know more but feel less. As catastrophes
become assumptions, people respond to suffering and crisis
with laughter. I try to highlight the easy and comfortable lives of
this generation, in particular the lightness of their being. At the
same time, I try to show audiences the beauty and uncanniness
of single moments, the humor and tragedy that is in us, life’s
grandeur as well as the frailty of humanity.