Gao Hang: You See? You Are Also Simulated

Gao Hang: You See? You Are Also Simulated
17th MAY, 2024 – 31th August, 2024
PULPO GALLERY
Obermarkt 51
Murnau
Germany

PULPO GALLERY is beyond excited to be hosting Gao Hang‘s second solo show with the gallery. “Gao Hang – You See? You Are Also Simulated.” will be on view at our Murnau space from May 18th to Aug 31st 2024.

In “You See? You are also simulated.,” the artist’s oeuvre serves as a navigational chart through the intricate layers of reality and simulation, exploring the porous boundaries between digital experiences and the tangible world. Born in 1991 in Baoding, China, and now residing in Houston, USA, Gao Hang has crafted a unique pictorial language that draws from a rich tapestry of influences, from traditional Chinese oil painting to the avant-garde experimentation afforded by his transnational experience. His masterful use of airbrush technique evokes a digital smoothness, questioning the relentless pursuit of high definition in our digital age.

This exhibition, interweaving Gao’s reflections with the seminal thoughts of French philosopher Jean Baudrillard on Simulation and Simulacra, presents a series of works that delve into the artist’s personal and generational encounter with the digital realm. Through animated characters reminiscent of 1990s computer games, Gao articulates a complex narrative on identity, reality, and the digital frontier. His works, often not fully rendered and bearing titles like “You see, you are also simulated buddy,” echo Baudrillard’s assertions on the hyperreal – a world in which simulations do not merely represent reality but come to supplant it.

Gao’s artistic inquiry aligns with Baudrillard’s notion that in the hyperreal, the distinction between the real and the simulation blurs, leading us to question the authenticity of our experiences. Gao’s fascination with the digital world’s ‘humanness’ – its blurriness, rendering flaws, and the inherent ‘ridiculousness’ – serves as a metaphor for the quest to find authenticity in a simulated existence. His work suggests that this digital archaeology, much like the discovery of cave paintings, reveals not just the birth of a new civilization but the inherent human desire to find meaning and reality within simulations.

Drawing from art history, Gao positions himself and his work within a lineage of artists who have abstracted their surroundings to question and interpret their era. His approach resonates with Baudrillard’s exploration of simulacra – the copies for which no original has ever existed. Through his lens, Gao’s works become artifacts of a civilization at the threshold of the real and the simulated, offering a poignant commentary on our digital age.

Gao’s philosophical musings, informed by the ideas of Nick Bostrom and the experiments of John B. Calhoun, extend the exhibition’s narrative to the broader questions of existence and the nature of humanity. His work prompts us to consider the possibility that our reality is but a simulation, a theme that ties back to Baudrillard’s challenges to our perceptions of reality.

“You See? You are also simulated” is more than an exhibition; it is a philosophical journey that bridges art history and digital culture, inviting viewers to explore the depths of their perceptions and the constructs of their realities. Through Gao Hang’s eyes, we are encouraged to confront the hyperreal, to find beauty in the blurred lines of our digital existence, and to question the very fabric of our simulated lives.

Gao Hang: You See? You Are Also Simulated opens on the 17th of May, 2024 until the 31th of August, 2024 at PULPO GALLERY

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