4 Profile


I went back to oil paint as I found it to be more versatile and dynamic


If you pause and get back to it later, you are no longer at that moment and in the flow. If the flow is important to you, then you do not want to interfere by adding something that would not be a continuation, but rather a disruption. In that case, just let it be the imperfect painting that it is. It is a tricky question and I do not have a definite answer.


AAN: How would you describe the changes in your practice over the years? HB: Between 2014 and 2016, I had already started working with all these ripped adverts or ripped printed matter and I was obsessed with the precision of it. Back then, I entirely rallied on acrylic, because acrylic has the advantage of being able to be built-up easily. In addition, it is closer to the printed matter and to the references I was using. I was obsessed with the hard-edged, clean-cut quality of the print, with the glossy surfaces and the very smooth aluminium industrialised finish of certain things. Looking at the paintings from that time, they are very clean-cut. Ten, around 2018, I went back to oil paint, because I found it to be more versatile and dynamic, although, in a way, it is messier and more difficult to control than acrylic. I would not say it is sexier, but it is fair to say I had more animosity towards it. I find it is more human, providing more depth and texture. Most importantly, I opted for oil at that time because it is less perfect and I did not want to do the clean, hard-edged style and ripping anymore. It had nothing to do with recreating certain effects, but rather with how I could turn this into a painting of its own? Now, I want the piece to be as


independent, and authentic to itself as possible. It is not a re-creation or a representation of something. It is just itself. I never want to limit myself to the ripped posters. In between, I would always make the lesser-known paintings, as I do not make a lot of


Sutra X (2023), acrylic on paper, 30.5 x 25 cm


to travel, but refuses to leave the airport that has become his home. With this train of thought, I always joke with people that I do not really have a life. It almost feels like I am frozen in time. Whereas all of my friends are getting married and having children, I am just doing what I was doing 10 or 12 years ago: painting in my studio and being in my own cocoon. Tere are all these trivial aspects of


Silver Linings Self-Help Book for Years to Come (2023), oil on linen, 143 x 177.8 x 2.5 cm


them. For example, around 2018, I was obsessed with Spiderman, so I painted Spiderman and Dr Strange. I still make those screenshot paintings, like the film stills, and sometimes, they are just a standalone painting that does not belong to any group or category. Tey are just themselves.


AAN: How do the smaller pieces on newspaper relate to the larger pieces. Do you consider them as a separate body of work? HB: Tese pieces on paper are the reflection of the larger paintings that I have been working on. Tey came to be as I was working with acrylic, spray paint, and vinyl-based spray paint – as used for painting cars – which can be extremely thick and sticky. If there was too much of this paint, I would use the newspaper to blot it off. As a result, it would create a stain that was beautiful to me and that I wanted to keep for my own reference. Tese pieces are very personal and intimate. I love them. I find them very poetic, all the more so, as generally at the initial stage, it is very generic journalistic content: climate change, wars, crimes. To me, however, there is something that is sublime about them.


AAN: Would you consider both the paintings and the works on paper as a reflection, or a time capsule, of the period we are living in? HB: Absolutely, but perhaps a little more elevated. I write journals and I


being a human being, a social person, giving you some obligations with which I do not want to deal. It seems I have a legitimate excuse not to deal with them, or face them – this is the act of painting. Every time I am confused, I do not want to deal with something, do not know how to be that person, or wear that title, painting would always be a good thing for me to escape to. Deep down, I know that this is something I have to deal with, but I am just putting it off, like doing my taxes or having to face certain things that you have to face in life. Just like everybody else. Ultimately, it all comes down to the question – how to function as an adult?


feel that this can be incredibly therapeutic, but I would not try to perfect my journal. As to painting, it takes time, and it is not as casual as a diary. It is something I have to sculpt with care and time. In a way, the paintings are my diary, but as I said, I do not try to perfect my diaries.


A Very Lucky Man’s Melancholy (2023), oil and acrylic on linen, 172.7 x 203.2 cm


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AAN: Are your titles referring to quotes, remarks, or thoughts from your diary? HB: When I am painting, I watch films that I have probably watched a 100 times and that are special to me, or had an affect on me. Alternatively, I listen to what other artists say in interviews, or introspective and self-reflective monologues when they are talking to a recording machine. Tey are basically talking to themselves, and then they would say something where I would feel ‘this is something I would say to myself ’. On some occasions, I would have similar thoughts about the same subject and struggle to put it into words. With another person expressing it so beautifully, I say to myself that it is all right to steal that for my titles. I have done this quite a few times already, because I do not know how to express it otherwise. Similarly, when walking on the street, there is often a blackboard outside a church with a quote from the Bible. I would see that in the morning and it would stay with me for the rest of the day. I would hope this was going to give me some direction, or enlighten me in some way in a topic that has been confusing me or troubling me for the past however many days, and keep me going. For example, the painting


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Some days, you wrestle, and some days you do the storytelling, is based on an interview with an actor about shooting a film and the title is very specific to the conversation they were having. In my case, I would see that title in the way that some days we do the hard work and we sweat, and sometimes we just look back and reflect. Another example is the painting A very lucky man’s melancholy. I actually do not remember from where I got the title, but it refers to hearing people say in disguise that they did not understand why this person took their own life, since his life was amazing. Of course, we all know that anyone’s depression has nothing to do with how much money they have, or the lifestyle they are living. Te titles do not have much to do with the content of the painting, rather they have more to do with the state, a certain mind set, or a certain condition I was in. It is all about what I am emotionally experiencing while I am working.


AAN: I came across a quote by the American writer Toni Morrison that you re-appropriated with regards to a painting, saying ‘otherwise, I am stuck with life’. Can you elaborate? HB: Here, I am referring and using another person’s experience. Tere is this famous American, who lived at Charles de Gaulle airport for many years that Spielberg turned into the film Terminal. He is trying to get to another country, but since he has not had a passport for some time, he can neither go back to France nor go abroad, remaining stuck at the airport. Ultimately, he gets a permit


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AAN: You grew up while the first artists that started to gain international recognition and put contemporary art from China on the map. How do you relate to that first generation, for example, the late Huang Yongping, the late Chen Zhen, Wang Keping, Yan Pei-Ming, Ma Dashing – all based in Paris. HB: I have been incredibly fortunate to be growing up in a time where art is much more accessible. Also, it is easier for my generation to go abroad, whereas it was more difficult for them to travel and even pursue a degree and a life in art. Terefore, I appreciate them paving the way for us. Te various opportunities I have had were not just because of me trying to perfect my profession, but also because of the time I am living, which I should not take for granted. Many artists came before us and they made people aware that we are not just Chinese artists. We are artists who are trying to be honest, as authentic as possible, trying to reflect on what is around us. We are more than a face or a name. Looking at artists themselves and what they are really doing is way more important than looking at them as a certain representation of some sort. Te artists you mentioned are excellent examples, they are great artists in their own sense, and they are Chinese. To me, Huang Yong Ping (1954-2019) was a once-in-a -lifetime genius, and Yan Pei Ming (b 1960) is a great painter, too. Tey are wonderful examples of not only Chinese artists, but they are just great artists. I realise it is always been challenging and such a luxury to study art, not just for Asian families, but for any household and family. It takes a tremendous amount of sacrifice and effort.


AAN: Is it important for you to get recognition in China, or is it not much of a priority? HB: I am Chinese and that is always going to be part of me. It is not that I do not care, but I do not mind. As I indicated earlier, the first audience is always me and the most important thing to do is to impress and challenge myself. When I am working, I do not think about the audience at all. Whatever the feedback, I am always amazed that anyone cares about what I am doing. I suppose it is always a good thing that people would take the time to pause, look at my art, and provide feedback. I very much welcome it.


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