Hao Liang

“Even as the sails inflated by the wind
Involved together fall when snaps the mast,
So fell the cruel monster to the earth.”
— Dante Alighieri, Canto VII, Inferno

This booklet accompanies Gladstone's first solo exhibition with Hao Liang, taking place in the fall of 2024 in Brussels. The enigmatic phrase “Pape Satàn Aleppe,” uttered by Pluto in Dante’s Inferno and defying centuries of interpretation, sets the tone for Hao Liang’s thought-provoking show. By adopting this cryptic title, the exhibition amplifies the calculated ambiguity inherent in Hao Liang’s works, inviting the viewer to grapple with layers of meaning at the intersection of visual history, literary allusion, and philosophical inquiry. 

 

Hao Liang’s work is characterized by its contemplative nature and rich intertextuality, fostering dialogue with a historical material approach that engenders multiple interpretive possibilities through the interplay of analogies and contradictions. With a family background in filmmaking, Hao Liang’s work naturally exudes a captivating cinematic quality. 

 

Drawing parallels with Dante’s Inferno and echoing Li Shangyin’s melancholic poetry, Hao Liang navigates this powerful interplay with nuanced precision. His visual storytelling evokes the collapse of power structures—akin to Pluto’s defeat by Virgil and Dante’s divine protection—symbolizing vulnerability in the twisting water of time. By synthesizing diverse cultural and historical references, from classical literature to contemporary concerns, Hao Liang constructs a narrative deeply rooted in tradition yet strikingly modern. His artistic vision, exemplified in this exhibition, masterfully interweaves enigmatic narratives that bridge the turbulent past with the fragile present.

 

Printed by Graphius, Brussels

Published by Gladstone, 2024

ISBN 979-8-218-49799-6