徐浩洋｜凝练叙事与情感游离
Wowser Ng | The visual narrative of contemporary art and popular culture
Writer: zhuo
Date: 10/30/2024
Keywords: digital painting / queer emotional relationships / materialism / fetishism
Date: 10/30/2024
Keywords: digital painting / queer emotional relationships / materialism / fetishism
徐浩洋的作品曾在北京、伦敦、台北等地展出: 北京当代·艺术博览会，北京，2024;各自结构: 年轻艺术家的求索，亚纪画廊，台北2024;炽热的前路，inner flow，北京，2023;尘埃之尽，宇宙画廊伦敦，2023;陌生的名单，山上艺术空间，厦门，2023;艺术深圳博览会，深圳，2023 等。
Wowser Ng (b. 1998) is a visual artist born in China and currently based in London. Focusing on digital painting, Wowser’s work delves into queer emotional relationships, materialism, and fetishism. His paintings create abstract forms to capture emotions, desires, and the fascination with objects. Wowser's work has been exhibited internationally, including in London, New Orleans, Shanghai, Beijing, and Barcelona.
Wowser has exhibited at numerous institutions worldwide, such as AI-Tiba9 Gallery; Jonathan Ferrara Gallery; London Lighthouse Gallery; Beijing Fangyuan Gallery; and Shanghai Exhibition Center. His work has been featured in issue 32 of Gulf Stream Magazine as an artist and cover artist; in Aesthetica Artist Directory, Aesthetica Magazine (Issue 113), MakersPlace Magazine, and AI-Tiba9 Magazine (Issue 13), among others. Wowser's works are part of the collections at Swatch Art Peace Hotel and the Central Saint Martins Museum.
热天午后展览现场，叁拾空间，2024
从作品中的画面到对作品的命名，徐浩洋的艺术中充斥着电影、音乐等流行文化的存在。他的个人首展名“热天午后”取自于导演西德尼·吕美特在1975年所执导的犯罪剧情同名电影。故事都发生一个炎热的夏日午后，但主题和内容就不尽相同，每件作品都定格于某一瞬间或是一个镜头，在朦胧的光感下表现出独属于他的氤氲的夏日午后。而英文名Summer Blue则展现夏日下的明媚蓝天、海浪，以及忧郁和缱绻。
Wowser's creations are rooted at the intersection of popular culture and the fashion world, capturing the transformations and impact brought by trends and style. In his work, art is not merely a visual expression but also a profound observation of contemporary societal phenomena. Through his meticulous examination of fashion and materialism, coupled with the interplay of color and imagery, Wowser reveals the complex relationship between the individual and trends beneath the glamorous surface. His art seems to capture those fleeting moments—those subtle emotions and personal experiences easily overlooked amidst the spread of popular trends in modern society.
(left)
Call Her Moonchild, 布面丙烯, 50x90cm, 2024 , (right)
Call Her Moonchild, 布面丙烯, 50x90cm, 2024 , (right)
徐浩洋的青春时代深受影像文化的浸染，伴随中国盗版录像的兴盛时期。从电影、漫画到杂志，他在影像的世界中沉浸自得，这些影像大多源自街头音像店，充满了90、00后一代熟悉的记忆，其中不乏来自盗版小摊的粗制影像——数部影片压制在同一光碟上，封面上拼贴满了各种电影角色，这种视觉的混杂令少年徐浩洋着迷。这样广泛存在于大众视野里的山寨文化，以一种bootleg式的方式解构了原本影像，体现出赝本对原本的解构，这使他初步体会到影像创作的多元性。在音乐上，他则偏爱各种摇滚乐，在濡湿的夏日荡漾于心神的颤动中。
Wowser's works are characterized by their highly saturated colors, abstract compositions, and in-depth exploration of materialism. He skillfully employs bright colors and fluid lines to capture the fragility and complexity of emotions in contemporary society. By deconstructing and redesigning everyday objects, he examines the interaction between personal feelings and popular culture. Each of his works contains a unique narrative, presenting an emotional expression that transcends material appearances, imbued with a gentle yet profound visual impact. The artwork "A Night with the Mistake" centers around a perfume bottle and lipstick, representing metaphors of sexuality and emotion. The painting uses yellow light to create a warm yet dangerous atmosphere. The twisted forms of the perfume and lipstick gradually dissolve over time, symbolizing the irretrievable mistakes in relationships. The overlapping and projection of these objects mirror the layers of time, capturing the contrast between fleeting moments and enduring presence, provoking contemplation on the complexity and irreversibility of emotions.
相较于过往以一种B级片的感觉直接地调侃和山寨各种电影，如今电影等流行文化已然有机地成为了他的艺术创作中的元素，而占据中心的则变成对自身反应的观察与反思。作品 阿珍、香江暖流 则是特定流行文化产物的集合意象。充满暗示性的画面融合了无数的港片记忆，无数被叫做“阿珍”的女性，同时也暗指主演过许多B级片的港星李丽珍。阿珍作为一个被凝视的对象，被聚焦于她的腰与臀，她穿着白色纱质内裤的身体显出一种纯真的情色，并不指向任何实体，而只是某种涌起的回忆，陌生、神秘且模糊。香江暖流 的闪耀的暖金色薄纱覆盖的画布直接带人回到了香港电影的黄金岁月，香江的水波摇动中泛出一张女人的妩媚剪影，让人依稀能听到徐小凤的歌声。艺术家以非常典型的意象的集合来提炼一种源自于流行文化的整体记忆，让电影、音乐融为一体带来通感式的审美体验。
"Sound of Silence" similarly uses everyday objects, exploring gender identity, queer relationships, and societal expectations of gender in a humorous yet incisive manner. The arrangement and composition of the objects create a tension within the silence, with a squeaky chicken signifying anxiety and fear, hinting at the suppression of the artist's emotions while revealing the queer growth experience. Wowser infuses his works with a unique perspective drawn from personal experiences, endowing depicted objects with life and emotion. Each object—be it a ring, a perfume bottle, or lipstick—transcends its simple everyday function, becoming a symbol of emotion, representing moments of fragility, confusion, or tenderness. Through these familiar symbols, he allows viewers to inadvertently sense the unspeakable emotions beneath the surface of popular culture and materialism.
The Shape of Time，时间的形状，Digital Painting on Fine Art，Canvas, Unique, 70x52cm, 2024 (left)
Ambiguous Water and Your Unbreakable Future，暧昧的水和你坚不可摧的未来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique，70x52cm, 2024 (right)
Ambiguous Water and Your Unbreakable Future，暧昧的水和你坚不可摧的未来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique，70x52cm, 2024 (right)
徐浩洋也尝试创作以电影、音乐的氛围而非特定情节、画面为灵感的更加抽离的作品。脸红的思春期 将清新流行的音乐提取成暧昧的嫣粉、淡紫与嫩绿色，展现一位少女沐浴着阳光与水珠的自然模样。春假 与金色池塘 也与同名电影没有直接的关联，仅是其氛围与色调和艺术家所描绘的场景相契合，如今的电影、音乐已经成为徐浩洋创作的养分，以潜移默化的形式影响着他，开发他对自身情感、欲望、处境的探索。
The artwork "The Shape of Time" captures the intangible essence of the passage of time. The distorted forms and light tones in the composition evoke an elusive tension. Floating tears drift slowly through the river of time, as if narrating those moments difficult to recollect. Each element breathes freely on the canvas, forming a dance where time and emotion intertwine, allowing the viewer to feel both the weight and lightness of time in its flow.
The Shape of Time，时间的形状，Digital Painting on Fine Art，Canvas, Unique, 70x52cm, 2024 (left)
Ambiguous Water and Your Unbreakable Future，暧昧的水和你坚不可摧的未来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique，70x52cm, 2024 (right)
Ambiguous Water and Your Unbreakable Future，暧昧的水和你坚不可摧的未来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique，70x52cm, 2024 (right)
早期作品 偷窥狂 和 我知道你去年做了什么 把侯麦的经典场面截图改造成充满冲击的偷情场面，其中是毫不掩饰的亵渎并内含一种强烈、横冲直撞的欲望。而在转为用更意识流的方法来引用流行文化经典后，徐浩洋作品中裹挟的人性的欲望也“收敛”起来，变得暗流涌动，例如 Maneater 这样的作品在那微妙的鼻血滴落瞬间的停顿和远处女性模糊的肉体下呼之欲出的张力。
Wowser's art is filled with the capture of fleeting emotions, presented in a tender, non-critical manner. This allows his works to maintain visual impact while also holding an intrinsic tranquility. In "Ambiguous Water and Your Unbreakable Future," the use of a pink palette creates an atmosphere where ambiguity and fragility coexist. Emotions flow through the composition like water, gentle yet hidden. The pink color not only symbolizes sweetness and fantasy but also carries a fleeting fragility, as if it would shatter upon touch. Wowser uses ambiguous colors and light lines to depict the vulnerability of relationships, evoking endless reverie and melancholy.
使用小尺幅的画布创作，徐浩洋以一种镜头语言的意识用限制的视角去捕捉身体的局部，将它们放大描绘。一支手、背对的臀部、看不清五官的侧影、鼻血流下的下颌、蜷缩的双脚——身体的细节语言比完整的人像更具故事感也更有真实的张力。一些在完整的画面中会被人刻意隐藏、忽略的真实的姿态与表现占据中心，也正像艺术家所认为的那样更具“人味”。观者得以窥视在特定场景下定格在那一瞬间的身体的局部，品味限制的构图内隐秘的、私人化的情感。不完整的画面引人遐思，徐浩洋放弃了更全面的表现和对原始素材（电影、音乐）叙事的依赖，以画布外留出的想象空间为引，衍生出观看的通感，让叙事以暗线的形式交织在不同作品中。
Additionally, Wowser integrates elements from fairy tales into his creations. The fictional world of fairy tales is a space where emotions and materiality intersect. With fluid brushstrokes and distorted forms, he narrates a world that remains beyond our complete grasp. "Ten Minutes of Mobility" draws inspiration from the classic fairy tale "Cinderella," featuring a cigarette shoe symbolizing the illusion of class and materiality. The burning cigarette and the height-augmenting effect of the high heel suggest the transience of social structures and the inevitability of returning to the original state. The character in the painting gazes ahead with an air of scrutiny and reflection, with light breaking the balance of the composition from the left, foreshadowing the collision of illusion and reality.
The Shape of Time，时间的形状，Digital Painting on Fine Art，Canvas, Unique, 70x52cm, 2024 (left)
Ambiguous Water and Your Unbreakable Future，暧昧的水和你坚不可摧的未来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique，70x52cm, 2024 (right)
Ambiguous Water and Your Unbreakable Future，暧昧的水和你坚不可摧的未来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique，70x52cm, 2024 (right)
The Night Watch，夜巡，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique, 70x52cm，2024
Mending the Secret，缝补秘密，Digital Painting on Fine Art Paper, Edition of 5, 100x75cm, 2023
Mending the Secret，缝补秘密，Digital Painting on Fine Art Paper, Edition of 5, 100x75cm, 2023
徐浩洋的学院派背景带给他非常扎实、极度细致的技巧，对不同色块最细枝末节的微妙变化与过渡的把控尤为成熟。“热天午后”系列以同样一种沐浴在夏日的氤氲下的瞬间而统一，如今的艺术家沉浸于画面的整体色调，让每幅画布上的色彩都愈发柔和，一切都笼罩在不真切的胶片一般的滤镜中。这种滤镜来自于一种不自然的光感，在发丝与玻璃杯上映出海面般的波光粼粼，却又被整体的灰色调调和变得朦胧。在徐浩洋的画笔下，布料与皮肤，人体与物体，主体与背景之间的界限变得十分暧昧，往往以细微的灰色来勾勒出边缘，它有时是阴影的暗灰，有时在光晕下散发出柔和的光芒，将界限不断延伸直至彼此交融，如同人性与情感中的灰色地带。
Wowser responds to the rapid changes brought by popular culture and the superficial prosperity of materialism through his work, yet it is not simply a critique. The artist enjoys extracting visual symbols from fashion, then distorting and deforming them to create a novel visual experience. The highly saturated colors and fluid lines infuse the composition with both vitality and subtle emotional flow, as if reminding us that behind the material world lie more delicate and complex emotions and stories.
Glass Love，玻璃之恋，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique, 70x52cm，2024 (left)
Distant Wish，遥远的心愿，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique, 70x52cm, 2024 (right)
Distant Wish，遥远的心愿，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique, 70x52cm, 2024 (right)
徐浩洋希望画面中“饱含鲜活的力量和长久的韵味”，是值得反复体味咂摸的。这样的余味似乎就留在他的作品的那种游离与交融中，让画面及其产生的情感与人性上的表露都停留在不确定的灰色地带。艺术家所期待的那种余味不免让人想起艺术品的“aura”（灵韵），而提出这一概念的本雅明认为这样的灵韵是从有距离的审美体验中产生的。
在大众媒体已然将距离消解的当下，徐浩洋以学院派熏陶出的足够经典的风格与技巧回到视觉体验本身，似乎带回了那样的灵韵。本雅明心中的灵韵就如“在一个夏日的午后，一边休憩着一边凝视地平线上的一座连绵不断的山脉或一根在休憩者身上投下绿荫的树枝，那就是这座山脉或这根树枝的光韵在散发。”观者审视下的徐浩洋的画作有着类似的在距离的作用下对远处“山脉”轮廓和对头顶“树枝”的模糊感。在“热天午后”系列里，画布内界限模糊的色彩、光晕与内在表达隔离出有距离的审美体验，让处于灰色地带中的朦胧美散发出“灵韵”，而不同画作并置在同一空间内带出的隐约的叙事暗线更是延长着艺术的“余味”。
In "Glass Love," Wowser takes inspiration from a wishing bottle, vividly presenting the dichotomy between solidity and fragility. The contrast between the transparency of the glass bottle and the fragility of the paper symbolizes the tension faced by Generation Z between material and spiritual life. Through twisted forms, Wowser expresses these unusual relationships, exploring the close intertwining of materiality and emotion in contemporary society. This work is not just a visual representation but also a profound philosophical reflection on human emotions and the material world.
Gaze，凝视，Digital Painting on Fine Art Paper, Edition of 15, 50x37.5cm, 2022 (left)
The Forthcoming Hoax，骗局即将到来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique, 80x60cm, 2024 (right)
The Forthcoming Hoax，骗局即将到来，Digital Painting on Fine Art Canvas, Unique, 80x60cm, 2024 (right)
徐浩洋所选择的具象且现实的表现形式如何继续保持相关性是一个很值得探讨的话题。在数字化的时代与当代艺术的语境下，不再通过写生的方法去创作，年轻的艺术家选取影像（截图、照片等）这些网络与荧屏上的内容来作为创作的现实依据和素材来源。从在海边席地而坐的一家人到在床头穿着睡衣背对观众的女性，徐浩洋选取进行描绘的日常景象来自于碎片化的瞬间，以及他日常记录的影像片段。将这些影像化的日常变成一个视觉经验转化为自身独特的表达语言，在其中他的创作充满着收集、选取、表现等过程，而非单纯的影像的重现。在这个视角下的具象表现的画作间离了被复制的原本与描绘的摹本，也许看似逼真，但其艺术追求的并非找寻事物和现象的意义，而仅仅是一种模棱两可的处于中间的游离状态，难以定义、荒诞不经。
可以说，徐浩洋的创作总是在人、事、物的游离中，从影像的解构到个人的表现，在画面内外交织的叙事，勾画出抽离现实但又反映真实的人性与情感的景象。他的艺术表达是一种对视觉的凝练，在静态的画布上显现出流动的印象，亦真亦幻，让所有的张力都静静流淌在悬置的灰色地带中，留给观者自己去回味。
Each of Wowser's works seems to be in pursuit of an ineffable moment, silently flowing at the intersection of time and space. Colors play the role of emotional guides in his works. The highly saturated blues, pinks, and yellows create a visual experience that transcends reality, as if these colors breathe and leap on the canvas, capturing the tremors of emotion. In this way, Wowser invites viewers not only to observe the work but to perceive the flow of emotions within its energetic field.