Excited with no Reason
Chen Hangfeng
陈航峰
Production date
2018
Object Detail
Media
video animation
Measurements
8 min 48 sec
Notes
Chen Hangfeng is fascinated by the history of transnational capital; colonial conquest; the travel of commodities such as porcelain and tea between China and Europe, and the impact of this trade on geopolitics. The animation Excited with No Reason delves into this territory with wit and visual acuity. Critic and curator Rebecca Catching described it as an ‘exploration of the modernist concept of time—bolstered by its henchmen of capital and scientific rationalism—which promise a harmonious trajectory from chaos to utopia.’ This jittery animated collage references ink painting, traditional gods and immortals, and traded commodities both ancient and modern, from porcelain and endangered bird species to cars and cosmetics. Recalling Dada collage, and most especially the witty juxtapositions of Hannah Höch, Excited with No Reason is a logical development in the work of an artist who moves between two worlds, now traversing the very same paths across the globe once dominated by the Dutch East India Company as he moves between his two homes in Shanghai and Amsterdam.
Accession number
2018.118