Roselina Hung: pretty boys kill me

Posted: Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Gallery Fukai Presents: pretty boys kill me
Roselina Hung: Solo exhibition
April 6 – 27, 2013
Gallery FUKAI

In pretty boys kill me, I address the subtle distinction between desire and obsession, with soft-featured young men serving as muse. Through my drawings, I continue to reference both public and personal histories.

Process and object are both important in this exhibition. At the outset, I was interested in whether my drawing capability and the quality of the work would suffer because of the intense repetition. The show’s ambiguous title, pretty boys kill me, gestures at the project’s and my own masochism. Having drawn about 300 faces, I injured my right hand and was unable to draw for several months. To be sure, pretty boys kill me speaks to the deleterious effect of obsessive desire. Love becomes an inoperable illness that cannot be removed without destroying the patient. The drawings touch equally, however, on the enabling aspect of obsession, its ability to focus the senses and intellect in pursuit of its object.