Mr. Hong Please Come In
Hong Hao Chinese
After Christopher Irion American
Not on view
Hong Hao gazes from a scene of exquisitely composed cultural accumulation. On the table in front of him, three architectural models (approximations of Gothic, South Asian, and Egyptian temples) equate this conspicuous display to a kind of religiosity, a sentiment echoed by the otherwise cryptic phrase at the photograph’s upper edge: "A gentle tone readily allows Mr. Hong to enter a peaceful reverie." But the scene is an elaborate ruse: Hong has digitally inserted himself into a self-promotional advertisement (the work of American commercial photographer Christopher Irion) in order to lampoon the perceived excesses of an economically integrated China. The repetition of Hong’s name in the overprinted title accentuates self-centeredness, signaling that capitalist consumption is the new norm.
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