2019.10.16 - 11.1
Slluks Solo × Tokyo Chuo Art Space

In 2019, Tokyo Chuo Art Space co-hosts a solo exhibition with individual artist for the first time. It is our great honor to cooperate with Chinese contemporary artist, Jiang Chuan, in the coming exhibition in Hong Kong, where viewers can find the artworks from the series Slluks created by the artist. The upside-down mask that Slluks wears is not a disguise, but a shield that allows people freely express themselves. The purpose of Slluks is to create a value system which enables the contemporaries to spiritually project their sense of belonging to this epoch. In the exhibition, the inverted skull, which symbolizes the token of the spiritual core of uniqueness, appears repeatedly in Jiang’s works. Mooring on such an anchor point, it not only mirrors the arrays of changes of the era, but also shows the contemplation of the performer on his disquietude. Jiang’s uncommon personal experience that set him apart from his peers has built him a stage of art where his creativity could soar.

Influenced by his family, Jiang studied painting at a young age and gradually developed an interest in various art forms. Jiang studied abroad in Europe and United States at his teen where he let himself immersed in the exploration of modern art. Upon his return to China, his artistic style has evolved and matured over time and eventually resulted in the creation of “Slluks”. Along the years, he has also established a methodical value system and adopted a more figurative approach for his artistic expression. Jiang’s artistic experience is always full of changes. He never excludes any kind of unknown change in his creation. Instead, Jiang believes that change itself is the most authentic and natural time art. In the exhibition viewers may observe these changes embodied in his works.

“Slluks” is the reverse spelling of the word “Skulls”. The inverted skull insinuates rebirth by fire, just like the new generation, valorous and audacious, who despises order and is struggling to break away from chains and shackles. These elements constitute to part of Jiang´s character and also represent his imagination for such a future. For it is the artist’s solo dance of art, no exhibition title would be more suitable than “Solo”. Each of his works bears a childish purity depicted on a figurative painting, however, among the abstract details it is also filled with metaphors of adult society and anticipation of the future world. It can be seen from the exhibition that Jiang rarely projects directly a grand historical progress, but artistically depicts the details of daily life. Each piece contains an individual metaphor, but when all the pieces of the series are put together, it sums up the changes that an individual is experiencing or will experience, which eventually forms the complete Slluks universe. In Magician, the protagonist Tommy has become a magician. He is both an expert who knows how to kick boredom out of life and the nexus of all the stories. The pattern of loops of frame has shortened the distance between reality and fantasy. We can read the story through the frame that formed by Tommy’s hands, while, at the same time, we are also encircled by the frame set by other people. In this way, the “two-sidedness” of real life is revealed.

In the series From Mars, all characters look like psychologists who guide the people to explore their mind. The series not only shapes the innocence and dream of an individual at birth, but also allows the viewers to have a glimpse of their other self that has long been put away for the mundanity of everyday life. Life Winner represents the dreams of Tommy. Individuals with newly formed independent personality will easily be washed away in the torrent of desire or be swallowed by specious trends. What a concrete jungle can offer are not only opportunities that shine like diamonds but also a beastly force of assimilation. Anyone who feels disoriented in it must learn to think independently. Therefore, as depicted in Thinking Now, the image of Tommy has morphed into a thinker. When an innocent individual like Tommy joins the society, one would feel overwhelmed by the trivial matters of daily life and be dazzled by the figurative materials that bring nothing but perpetual anxiety.

»Slluks Series items (Chinese version only) PDF 9.9MB