Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung
Residential Erection
April 5 - May 10, 2008
Postmasters Gallery is pleased to announce Residential Erection—an exhibition of new works by Kenneth
Tin-Kin Hung opening on April 5 and remaining on view until May 10, 2008. The reception is scheduled for Saturday,
April 5 between 6 and 8 pm. This will be the artist's first solo show with the gallery.
Born in Hong Kong and now living in New York Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung creates explosive political spectacles in a form of
dense, psychedelically flavored video animations, sculptures and digital collages.
Today's headlines are tomorrow's history. The raw materials for Hung's work are everyday news of wars, religious conflicts,
natural disasters, dirty politics, climate change, and global and local economy.
Postmasters' exhibition is devoted to 2008 US Presidential Election and its unprecedented place at the intersection of
politics, popular culture and media manipulation of the political process.
At the center of Residential Erection is short, action-packed video animation retelling and contextualizing the
election and two monumental pop-up book structures depicting the fields of Democratic and Republican candidates. The
precisely researched video hits hard at the hypocrisy of political rhetoric of recent years, and the troubled State of the Union.
As hilarious as it is scary, it merges internet-scavenged imagery and original animation with pop graphics to create factual
or semi-fictional relationships between the familiar political figures, corporations, and mass media iconography.
At risk of giving away the ending:
FINAL SCENE-MEDIA, PATRIOT ACT AND WASHINGTON MONUMENT
A man is masturbating (with a ballot box covering his genital areas) on a couch while watching the Diebold TV. His head is
wrapped with an American flag (resembling John Heartfield's photomontage "Whoever Reads Bourgeois Newspapers
Becomes Blind and Deaf: Away with These Stultifying Bandages!"), his right hand is holding a TV remote control in a shape
of a handgun. There's a sign saying "Patriot Act" in the room. Outside the room in the White House. On the lower left corner
a "Not News" logo is based FOX news. When the man reaches his climax the screen turns into the Washington Monument
exploding red, white and blue colors from its tip.
THE END.
Gas Zappers, a video in which Tin-Kin Hung takes on the subject of climate change and the politics of global
warming, will be shown in the second gallery.Both Gas Zappers and an earlier work Because Washington is
Hollywood for Ugly People starring George W. Bush, his cabinet, and an international cast of world leaders and pop
stars, have been shown at Sundance Film Festival in Park City this January. Washington/Hollywood"/i> was
recently on view at The New Museum as a part of "Unmonumental" exhibition (until March 29).
In her New York Times' review Roberta Smith wrote that Hung's video is "like the cover of the Beatles' "Sgt.
Pepper" album or the credits of the Monty Python television show, with jet fuel." (July 20,2007)
Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung's work is not about "lessness".
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Elephant List (Residential Erection: Pop-up Republicans) 2008 pop-up book, installation view mixed media (wood/foam panel, digital print on paper) 8 x 8 x 8 feet |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Ultra Donkey (Residential Erection: Pop-up Democrats) 2008 pop-up book, installation view mixed media (wood/foam panel, digital print on paper) 8 x 8 x 8 feet |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Ultra Donkey (Residential Erection: Pop-up Democrats) 2008 pop-up book, installation view mixed media (wood/foam panel, digital print on paper) 8 x 8 x 8 feet |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Borat Obama Change We Can Cash In 2008 video still HD video, running time 5 minutes digital prints on canvas edition of 5 + AP (AP on view 30 x 52 inches, edition 36 x 64 inches each) |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Shamnesty Straight Talk Express 2008 video still HD video, running time 5 minutes digital prints on canvas edition of 5 + AP (AP on view 30 x 52 inches, edition 36 x 64 inches each) |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN BillaryCare 2.0 2008 video still HD video, running time 5 minutes digital prints on canvas edition of 5 + AP (AP on view 30 x 52 inches, edition 36 x 64 inches each) |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Residential Erection(4) 2008 video still HD video, running time 5 minutes |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Residential Erection(5) 2008 video still HD video, running time 5 minutes |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Residential Erection(6) 2008 video still HD video, running time 5 minutes |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Residential Erection (final scene) 2008 video still HD video, running time 5 minutes |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Gas Zappers (1)" 2007 video still Music by Noah Vawter HD video, running time 5 minutes Edition of 5 +AP |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Gas Zappers (2) 2007 video still Music by Noah Vawter HD video, running time 5 minutes Edition of 5 +AP |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Gas Zappers (3) 2007 video still Music by Noah Vawter HD video, running time 5 minutes Edition of 5 +AP |
 |
KENNETH TIN-KIN Gas Zappers (4) 2007 video still Music by Noah Vawter HD video, running time 5 minutes Edition of 5 +AP |