Head Wind-He Gong Solo Exhibition
不知何工到底有没有反骨，但他总是逆时趋而行。从不随俗，不妥协，甚至“不宽容”，似乎在他的眼里，只有抵抗，反叛，和自由。
深怀启蒙使命的何工无疑是一个理想主义者，他将一切体验、情感、关怀和反思皆付诸笔端。身体记忆、英雄情结、革命叙事及政治批判都是他画面中最为常见的题旨。但显然，他并非随波逐流，简单地挪用和转译既有的图像和话语资源，更不是廉价地标明自己的态度和立场，而常常是反其道行之，经由厚重的笔触肌理与政治的话语幻象，使得其记忆也好，批判也罢，都因此而极富强度和深意，充满悲愤和张力。
持守知识分子立场的何工也是一个“现实主义者”，他将一切经验、记忆、批判和理想同样付诸社会公共实践，而力图创造一个“诸神共舞”的“现实乌托邦”。只有在这个“乌托邦”中，理想、批判和自由才成为可能。也似乎惟其如此，他的语言及内在于其中的反思和抵抗才不会被悬置于历史与现实之上的虚无中，而是深植于其所身处的错位、悖谬和令人纠结的狭仄境地。
在这个意义上，所谓“逆行”，不仅意指一种态度，一种立场，更重要的在于，如何有效地体现立场，进而使其扎根于历史与现实。
鲁明军
2010年11月17日
I am not sure whether He Gong is by nature a contrary person. However, he is always against the trend. Never follow, never compromise, or even "no tolerance". It seems in his eyes, only exists resistance, rebellion, and freedom.
He Gong, who takes on profound enlightening mission with himself, is undoubtedly an idealist. He injects all his experience, emotion, care and reflection into his painting. Physical memory, heroic complex, revolutionary narrative and political criticism are his most commonly seen themes. But obviously, he doesn’t follow the trend, taking or interpreting existing image and context or cheaply indicates his attitudes and position. Instead he goes in a contrary direction. Through thick brush strokes and texture and vision of political discourse, he makes both memory and critique very intense and powerful, full of anger and tension.
Holding the position of intellectuals, He Gong is also a "realist". He puts all his experience, memory, critique, and ideal into public practice, and seeks to create a "realistic utopia" with "all gods dancing along". Only in this "utopia", the ideal of criticism and freedom becomes possible. In this way it seems his language along with inside reflection and resistance will not float with nothingness upon history and reality, but deeply rooted in dislocation, paradox and narrow situation he is in.
In this sense, the so-called "head wind" not only means an attitude, a stance, but more importantly how to effectively reflect the position, and root in history and reality.
By Lu Mingjun
Nov. 17th 2010
