Double Happiness is a Warm Gun

1995 – Present

These paintings were inspired by my childhood memories when the circus or Chinese opera troupe visited my town. These were the first forms of entertainment that I was exposed to. In the travelling circus performances in China the acts were heavily based on the power of Qigong, which is basically a combination of medicine, martial arts, and philosophy. Later when I was in the army we would encounter these performances from time to time.

When I stated this series, I was thinking about the congruence of these shows as entertainment and their violent subject matter.

dhe-001Excitement Sideshow – Qi Gong, 1995, oil on canvas, 106 x 89cm

dhe-002Excitement Sideshow – Qi Gong, 1997, oil on canvas, 112 x 96cm

dhe-003Excitement Sideshow – Qi Gong, 1997, oil on canvas, 16 x 92cm, Collection of Robert Wilks, Melbourne Australia

dhe-004Excitement Sideshow – Qi Gong, 1997, oil on canvas, 116 x 92cm

selfportrait-20003-001Self Portrait, 2003, oil on canvas, 160 x 140cm, Collection of Dr. Thomas Berghuis (Guggenheim Museum New York’s Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Curator of Chinese Art.) 

 

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