The spread of culture is a curious phenomenon. As individuals, we do our best to see and understand the social currents that envelop and carry us all into a murky future. The universe is a sea of energy; tiny particles and massive stars influence, illuminate, impact, and transform each other. The human mind and body are no different. Every living being is absorbing changes from the environment, and radiating changes back out. In recent decades, American gang culture has spread across the globe with incredible speed. Today this trend is as strong as ever, and in China a generation of young people, especially young men, have immersed themselves in this style and culture.
In “Squeezed Identity”, we can see a young man looking out from underneath a hood, and the entire display is encased in stainless steel. Who is the person that is contained within this metal? Who is the person that is contained within these clothes? Just as we wonder what he really looks like, so too do we wonder about the entire generation that is trying squeeze itself into the “hard” and “cool” style that is being sold to it. To what extent can these young people continue to absorb, and what magnificent originality is waiting within? [Rhino Alabandine]