This week, I focused on Chinese photographer Hong Hao. Hao studied at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, and spent a decade printmaking before discovering a new passion for photography in 1999.
Hao enjoys working in series, taking time to master a medium before moving to the next. His first series, Selected Scriptures, is an encyclopedia of the world through Hao’s eyes. Hao’s goal was to challenge people to view the world in untraditional ways and discover new possibilities for peace. Hao created a bound book of 37 prints depicting humans, religion, war, and most notably, maps.
Each map shows countries organized in new and surprising ways. New Political World reshapes society and replaces the US with China. New World Survey Map resizes countries by status, expanding Europe and Japan while nearly erasing Africa and South America. Physical World inverts land and sea, pushing humanity to the fringe of the planet.
Hao’s seminal project, as though creating an entire encyclopedia was not enough, is a 12-year series entitled My Things. My Things is both a commentary on consumerism and a personal documentation of Hao’s life. Hao scanned miscellaneous daily-used items and digitally positioned them into collages. Items include coffee filters, egg cartons, sunglasses, CDs, bottle caps, food, and many more.
Hao describes each My Things collage as a micro universe that gives people a look into his life, and the world of contemporary China.
The NCSML will host My Things No. 1 and My Things No. 3. I look forward to engaging with museum visitors to see which items stick out most to them and which items they would choose to document if they were to make their own collages.
Nights at the Museum 