Big Circle Boys

Ho Tam
January 13th to February 9th, 1996

Ho Tam
Title: Big Circle Boys
January 3 – 1996

Dealing with various popular and cultural icons such as the Asian pop stars, designer labels and household products, the work explores the Asian male identity through cultural clichés and kitsch within our contemporary society.

Working with oils and acrylics on masonite boards in the same size of 16b by 12 inches, I have up to now completed approximately 75 pieces and am currently in the process of making more pieces (in variation of themes such as more portraits of population from other social classes, international currency, tattoo designs, black and white film stills and etc.). The paintings will all have a very “pop”-ish extremely glossy and an almost reflective quality. The installation in the gallery space will be site specific, intended to utilize all wall spaces with the numerous (over a hundred) small paintings displayed in seemingly random but also interrelated arrangement.

The title Big Circle Boys is taken from a term referring to an Asian criminal gang. In my continual juxtaposing of words against images, I have purposely chosen it for its controversy and ambiguity, with references of male bonding, certain sexual practice as well as the symbolic  mapping of a sub-culture within the bigger picture of our society.