Igor Chan
Painting120 x 180 x 1cmShips from Hong Kong
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Heat, 2021
Oil on canvas
£4,500
In stock
About the Artist
Igor Chan (b. 1998, Hong Kong) produces constructions of tertiary reality, analysing boundaries between the rational and emotional. Chan’s works initially appear derived from logical observation, accurately capturing the mundane motifs of urban life. Yet, this illusion of distant examination quickly dissolves: the artist reveals his hand by toying with blank space and opacity, also poignantly commenting on the filters and omissions of contemporary media. Chan further reveals traces of human agency in his subject matter: the dull objects he depicts act as deposits of tension, storing struggles of the personal, collective, and environmental. These simple symbols take on even sharper meaning during times of social unrest, bottling omnipresent feelings of nostalgia and camaraderie. Testing the illusions of objectivity and reality, Chan captures the ritualistic and binding, establishing spaces for interrogation and reflection.
About the Artwork
Heat is inspired by a picture I found in a local newspaper, but I have deliberately created the painting outside of its temporal and geographical context. The image you see in the painting can be the bonfire at a beach or a festival. My goal was to capture a fervent energy, using a neutral perspective to approach the controversial subject in the original picture. I didn’t want to use a didactic, superimposing voice. Instead, I wanted the audience to tell me what they see. I’ve also included a lot of white space in the painting. To me, the absence may even speak louder than what I’ve filled in. The things we can’t see often resonate stronger.
