Earwax
March 4–June 26, 2022
Brunnenstraße 9
10119 Berlin
Germany
Times Art Center Berlin is pleased to present the upcoming solo exhibition Earwax by the artist Wong Ping, curated by Hou Hanru. Spanning three months from March 4 till June 26, 2022, the exhibition features three newly commissioned, site-specific installations created by the artist.
As one of the most eccentric artists of our time, Wong’s visual language moves on the border between shock and humor, often creating disturbing and crude narratives that challenge conventional concepts of human desire, obsession, shame, isolation, or repressed sexuality. At the Times Art Center Berlin, the artist realizes his largest sculptural work to date, and transfers his idiosyncratic, humorous aesthetic into three-dimensional space. In his new works, playfulness meets urgency and discomfort as Wong critically reflects on turning increasingly inward in the face of pandemic restrictions on public life. As Hou Hanru writes in his curatorial statement: “From Hong Kong, Wong Ping sends us greetings, somewhat intimately, via the secret canal—his ears are now connected to ours. Is there a hole to some fresh air out there, on the other side of the world, in this pandemic new age?”
“Murmurs leak from someone’s ear?
It’s the echo created by the excess of a bunch of unpleasant words
that have been blocked from the eardrum.
Those that made it through are simply nonsense,
only the earwax remain as wisdom.”
—Wong Ping, Earwax (excerpt)
About Wong Ping
Through animation, sculpture, and immersive installations, Wong Ping creates a light-hearted, humorous, and accessible approach to the often deep psychological issues experienced by the protagonists in his works. As a Hong Kong native, many of Wong’s works reference the culture of the city, but also touch upon everyday problems which transverse physical borders in today’s globalized society.
About Hou Hanru
Hou Hanru is a prolific writer and curator based in Rome, Paris and San Francisco. He is currently Artistic Director of MAXXI (National Museum for 21st Century Art and National Museum of Architecture), Rome.
About Times Art Center Berlin
Founded by the Guangdong Times Museum in 2018, Times Art Center Berlin is the first parallel institution set up overseas by an Asian art museum. It operates as an autonomous, nonprofit organization and dedicates itself to developing new models of a contemporary art institute through exhibitions, productions, publications, public programs, and collaborative projects.
Press contact: press [at] timesartcenter.org
