Malicious Mischief

I woke rather sluggish this morning. Grey weather for July, the mirky sky sang with droplets of sporadic rain. In order to kick start some productivity out of my day I headed straight to the laptop. I wanted to make more of a dent in the course I was completing, MoMA’s ‘What is Contemporary Art?’.

MoMA doesn’t disappoint in this area. Great bite-sized lectures, insights, videos and readings. Several art-forms, narratives and artists were studied. One that stood out for me in today’s module was Martin Wong, a Chinese American social realist who addresses many cultural and racial barriers in his work.

After expanding my knowledge on the next few artists, I started daydreaming whilst reading. It happens to me. I can read a whole paragraph and I know I’ve read it but I can’t recall what I’ve read. A break was needed. It had been some time since my last gallery visit so this was definitely on the cards. I consulted Timeout for recommendations.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Displayed in digital monochrome, appeared ‘Martin Wong’ how serendipitous. His exhibit: ‘Malicious Mischief’ was being displayed here in London and luckily for me it was a few stops away on the Overground at the Camden Art Centre. I grabbed my everyday carry and headed off.

I enter Wong’s display up the stairs of the centre. It wasn’t what I expected, there were several different art-forms. A vintage TV lonely stood playing random dated yet colourful footage. I walk on and some writing on narrow panels catches my eye. Could it be hieroglyphics or some sort of foreign calligraphy, hard to say from here so I take a closer look. It is indeed english but in a rather attractive and unique handwriting. In black ink, scrawled animatedly down the contrasting white panels. I wasn’t far off though. It was an adaptation of Wong’s early interest in Chinese calligraphy. His chosen form of displaying many of his poems.

In the next room I was drawn to an impressive, bright graffiti-style flaming 8-ball imposed over star constellations. Wong was a keen reader of astrology books. The other pieces had the repetitive theme of hands forming letters. Once given a pamphlet of American Sign Language (ASL), when he first moved to New York City, Wong eventually adapted this into many of his works and it became a signature form of imagery for him.

In the next few rooms there was a strong sense of New York. Exposed brick adorned the rooms. His acrylic on canvas depictions of run-down New York neighbourhoods had a raw and and almost comic-book feel to them. Like the flaming 8-ball, there was more graffiti themed art on a hanging vintage leather biker jacket. This was a clear representation of Wong’s life when he moved to the highly Puerto Rica-populated Lower East Side. I recalled these pieces from my studies earlier that day: Wong was strongly influenced by New York Puerto Ricans also known as Nuyoricans (New York blended with Puerto RIcan). Wong befriended many Nuyorican graffiti artists and poets influencing his work.

In the final room stood colourful and ethnic displays. Chinese-themed buildings with a collage of people below, like some sort of retro movie poster. His homage to New York’s Chinatown.with parallels to his beloved San Francisco Chinatown. Pop-culture personified.

Wong’s work certainly lives up to his reputation as a disruptive artist using his surroundings and interactions as inspiration for narratives on racial and sexual identity throughout the 80’s and 90s, maybe too literally at times.