Hellish Gags exhibition at Square Street Gallery explores meme culture through subversive art

From April 27 to June 3, Square Street Gallery in Hong Kong is hosting the group exhibition titled Hellish Gags, which delves into the realm of digital meme culture through avant-garde art. The phrase 'hellish gags' originates from the digital Sinosphere and showcases pieces by artists who have experienced this form of humor. Among the featured works is Jason Pulgarin's 2022 painting that critiques consumption based on identity. Elliott Jamal Robbins's 2023 animation disrupts a book about John Wayne, while Namio Harukawa's drawings from around 1990 illustrate women overpowering bound men. Clara Wong presents a 2021 painting of an orange figure with 19 fingers and a 2023 canvas cake. Xiaoshi Qin's 2011 video reflects on labor, positioning hellish gags as visual allegory and innuendo, echoing the criticism of Yue Minjun's figures.