Boys on the Town, from the Suffused with the News Series

While most successful young artists in China move to larger cities such as Beijing or Shanghai to be near major art markets, Huang Hancheng has remained in his native city of Wuhan, where he believes he can best capture the spirit of modern China. In this work from his best-known series, Suffused with the News, Huang depicts a group of fashionable young men. They literally have become part of current events, as Huang has created a collage of newspaper clippings and advertising posters on the body of the central figure. Not only does this use of collage imply that everyday citizens are themselves part of societal change; it also wryly suggests that, like fashions, these changes will become passé.