All That Glitters, 2024

Hu Qiren’s third solo exhibition at Richard Koh Fine Art gallery, All That Glitters, explores the notion of visual language and the ways it is used for self-expression. 

 

In a series of new mixed media works, Hu unpacks the symbols that for him evoke Singapore. He observes the way state icons like the Merlion are put to work in articulating the polished personas that the Lion City strives to project. But a look below the surface reveals vernacular symbols – such as 四色牌 (or “Four Colour Cards”) and the white singlet – which are deeply rooted in Hu’s family and community histories. For the artist, these personal references speak to the “in” jokes and shared memories that are part of the beating heart of a place. Regardless of their source, he finds droll humour in the way these diverse symbols reflect experiences of life in Singapore, which can be at once hyper-global yet remarkably local, as well as engineered to precision yet idiosyncratic. 

Ultimately a love letter to the city where Hu lives and works, All That Glitters dwells on the joy and expansiveness that becomes possible when embracing all versions of the self.

 

The exhibition is curated by Gillian Daniel.