Clumps of hair, naked bodies and social commentary — where else can you more clearly find beauty in opposition than an art gallery? Ming Ying Hong, an assistant professor at Mississippi State, is showing her newest series, entitled "Amalgamations," at McMaster Gallery.
The pieces feature fractured and discordant images, challenging the viewer’s perception of beauty by deconstructing and juxtaposing explosions, bodies and masculine and feminine iconography.
“Removed from their original context, these parts are forced together, throwing ingrained societal hierarchies into disarray,” Hong said in an email interview.
The series is drawing-based, including charcoal on paper and graphite on mylar and one work nearly occupies an entire wall. The series not only balances different ideas but, in the fragmentation of highly realistic drawings, the pieces themselves almost become abstract works. This stylistic and thematic unity aptly fit the title of "Amalgamations" — the creation of a single structure by uniting different parts.
Not only is this title applicable to every piece in the show, but the series depicts a conceptual evolution. According to Hong, “[e]ach new component [introduced] is a reaction to the previous one.” Common motifs throughout the series include hair, explosions and fractured faces.
"Amalgamation #5" features images of two naked women towering over the viewer. The angle used to present the bodies provides connotations of power and control, but surrounding these images of dominance are those of traditional femininity. Locks of hair occupy much of the space, and the authoritative figures are faceless entities. Explosions create a halo around the black space where heads should be, juxtaposing themes of power with those of objectification.
Each work encourages viewers to “consider an ever-shifting and fluid spectrum between these binaries,” Hong said. “Masculinity and femininity, aggression and vulnerability, beauty and grotesqueness are equally valued."
Hong said she allows her art to develop organically, understanding the final piece might be far from what she initially envisioned. This newest series explores a topic she had been contemplating since graduate school, and so the series is the culmination and expansion of these ideas of disjointed unity.
Hong will be lecturing in room 239 of McMaster College from 6-7 p.m. on Wednesday and will give a talk on the closing night of the exhibit at 5 p.m. Thursday. Both events are open to the public.