Hip-hop originated from the evolutions of power structures in urban space. Minority groups strived to define their cultural zones through music parties and graffiti. Later on as hip-hop got trendy, it greatly promoted the exploration of different groups of people and classes for urban spatial resources and cultural discourse rights in a variety of forms including street dance, skateboarding, rap and graffiti.
Huang Yulong's "hoodie man" series draws inspiration from hip-hop. Street dance and other street activities are both a reawakening of the disciplined bodies, a challenge to the uniformly confined space, and a longing for a broader spiritual space. Physical bodies of the "hoodie man" become invisible behind the symbolic garments, pushing people to reconsider and reflect on the meaning of bodies. Their unique body language and the sense of energy radiated from the creases of the garments demonstrate that human body is not just what Foucault described as targeted object of modern power system but also a site for self-expression and infinite possibilities.
Faces of the "hoodie man" in Huang Yulong's work are missing, leaving behind a deep and dark void. As symbol of identity and a carrier of histories and individual memories, when face disappears, the established social identity of a person disappears along with it. In other words, when the face goes missing, the person is detached from his/her previous context of existence. According to the "role theory", people of different identities tend to behave predictably similar in similar contexts. And hip-hop in itself fosters such a "similar context". People detach themselves from their social roles in reality, taking on hoodies as their common "skin" to establish a cultural identity. They are people with missing faces, and in return it allows them to take on new roles in the new contexts and systems.
Unified feature and appellation mean they engage in the construction of the field under collective identity. Each "hoodie man" is part of that collective. Their bodies express their spiritual appeals through drastic releases in collective activities. Their bodies are more likely to become impulsive, tense and energetic as a collective than as individuals. In the meantime, the bodily rhythms and protests of individuals gain legitimacy within a collective.
In Huang Yulong's sculptures, where supposed to be faces is now filled with empty "shadow". In the "shadow theory", Jung regarded the shadow as the unconscious layer suppressed in one's personality. It tended to be primitive, passionate, aggressive and fanatical; and it also imbued people with dynamism, energy, creativity and vitality. Shadow and non-shadow collectively constitute a complete personality. All men have to confront their own shadow, and all men are able to draw energy from it.
When the face is missing and identity erased, the premise for people to enter a "carnival moment" is established. According to Bakhtin's "carnival theory", man lives two lives: one is brimming with conventions and hierarchies and the other, on the contrary, is carnivalesque. "Carnival" fundamentally speaking is deconstruction of culture, a cultural strategy that civilians devise to create an equal and free world. In the contemporary context, "carnival" can be manifested in numerous forms including bullet-screen comments, memes, nightclubs and street dance. In essence, all cultures that deconstruct the existing rigid systems are "carnivalesque". When detached from their identity in reality, people are liberated from the world that is structured, hierarchical, segregated and in which they always need to wear a mask, and ready to enter the "carnival moment". The "hoodie man" represent exactly such a state: fully unleashed, free and spontaneous, real and unrestrained.
Missing faces, erased identity, carnivalization and gamification - visual symbols and cultural elements unique to the "hoodie man" – can all be categorized as "lightweight civilization". In lightweight civilization, heaviness and rigidity – manifestation of "weight" – become the objects of deconstruction. "Lightness" leads to revolutions of symbols and cultures. The "hoodie man" with their rhythmic bodies, missing faces and smooth contour lines demonstrate the power of lightness: the lightness of matter and the lightness of sprit. Brightness of the mirror texture and elegantly fluctuant movements dissolve senses of rigidity and heaviness. Through release of the once disciplined body and abandonment of stereotyped masks, the artist manages to cast light on the polysemy, ambiguity and openness of lightweight aesthetics.
Solo Exhibition, HOW+SPACE
