Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung
In G.O.D. We Trust
March 18 - April 22, 2017
We are bringing Obama back!
Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung's 2009 series In G.O.D. We Trust will be shown in its entirety for the first time. G.O.D., in this case,
stands for Global Obama Devotion. The series comprises a video animation and a group of digital collages addressing the global
and domestic challenges that faced the Obama administration early in his presidency.
In an attempt to heal the world, Obama The Savior reincarnates into various prophets, spiritual leaders and deities: Jesus Christ,
Krishna, Abraham, Mohammad, the Yoruba Orisha God Elugua/Eshu, Buddha, and the Virgin of Guadalupe. The series remixes the
theological pillars of the various belief systems, substituting key elements of the holy texts with references to the political
and economical climate when Obama took office. Rather than idolizing Obama, In G.O.D. We Trust examines the hope and changes the
44th US president promised to deliver as well as the inevitable obstacles looming along the way. The frenetic speed of the video
and psychedelic overload of the collages create an explosive spectacle that undermines relationships between political icons, mass
media imagery, and the capitalist cathedrals where they dwell.
Where it once felt like shade thrown at the euphoria over Black Jesus, the open-eyed criticality of Tin-Kin's work now steels our
resistance as we stare into the gaping maw of the orange apocalypse.
Born in 1977 in Hong Kong, Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung has been called "the John Heartfield of the digital era." Like Heartfield,
who developed photomontage technique and turned it into a form of social critique, Hung's meticulously researched collages,
animations and video games (composed entirely of imagery sourced from the web) deliver a biting satire and hit hard at the
hypocrisies of political rhetoric.
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung In G.O.D. We Trust (2009) 2009 installation view |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung In G.O.D. We Trust 2009 WITH MUSIC BY MR. CLOAK AND DAGGER HD video, single channel, color, sound running time: 5 minutes |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung Jesus Christ - Hope He Can Change this Shit! 2009 digital print on canvas 40 x 72 inches |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung Buddha - Siddartha Obama 2009 digital print on canvas 40 x 72 inches |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung Elegua/Eshu - The Crossroads of Conflict 2009 digital print on canvas 40 x 72 inches |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung Guadalupe - Obamacita! 2009 digital print on canvas 40 x 72 inches |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung Krishna - Odharma 2009 digital print on canvas 40 x 72 inches |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung Mohammed - The Nightmare Journey 2009 digital print on canvas 40 x 72 inches |
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Kenneth Tin-Kin Hung Abraham - Yankees High With Hope 2009 digital print on canvas 40 x 72 inches |