Past

H-flux Gallery is pleased to present “A Fleeting Dream," the first solo exhibition in Korea by acclaimed Singaporean artist Jeremy Hiah, running from March 14 to April 19. Internationally recognized for his incisive social critique and distinctive sense of humor, Hiah masterfully satirizes the contradictions of contemporary social systems. This exhibition features approximately 20 new paintings and prints that explore themes of existence and consciousness, seamlessly blending Eastern and Western philosophical traditions. Hiah's artistic journey has been shaped by his early immersion in Taoist spirit medium culture, which led to his study of Taoist philosophy. Drawing inspiration from Zhuangzi's ‘Butterfly Dream (胡蝶之夢)’ and Franz Kafka's ‘Metamorphosis,’ he reinterprets instability and transformation through a contemporary lens. His work emphasizes the perpetual fluidity of reality while addressing the existential anxiety individuals experience within rigid societal structures. Working across painting, sculpture, installation, and performance, Hiah's practice involves variations and expansions of themes across diverse media. Influenced by Dadaism and Fluxus, he challenges traditional artistic boundaries and resists established systems. His strategic use of satire, humor, found objects, and participatory performances subverts conventional meanings, deliberately blurring the distinction between art and life. A focal point of the exhibition, "The Coward," evolved from a 1994 work depicting a man burying his head in the ground. This concept transformed through a performance along the Mekong River in 2008 and later into "The Coward" print series, where a man buries his head in money—a pointed critique of modern society's obsession with wealth and escapism. For Hiah, a coward is "someone who lacks the courage to face reality," highlighting how, within capitalist structures, humans are more attached to illusions. In "The Asia Garden of Earthly Delight," Hiah reinterprets Hieronymus Bosch's masterpiece through a contemporary Asian perspective. This large-scale drawing explores heaven, earth, and hell through surreal imagery featuring octopus-shaped spaceships, performance artists, architectural elements, and a rich fusion of Eastern and Western cultural motifs. While Bosch critiqued human desire through moral allegories, Hiah depicts physical transformations and distortions that reflect how individuals are manipulated within the power structures of contemporary systems. "A Fleeting Dream" presents works that examine human existence through the prisms of Taoist philosophy and Western existentialism. For Hiah, metamorphosis is the manifestation of the fluidity of existence within social systems. His work merges Bosch's grotesque imagination with Daoist worldviews, portraying the impermanence and illusory nature of money, power, and societal order. In "1 Dies, 1000 Grow," the artist suggests that a fleeting dream (一場春夢) is not nihilistic, but instead just another moment in our continuing existence. While worldly achievements may vanish, disappearance is not the end but the beginning of another transformation. Throughout this cyclical process, Hiah reshapes the familiar into the strange, inviting viewers to contemplate human freedom within a world of perpetual change. Jeremy Hiah (b. 1972, Singapore) studied painting at RMIT/LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts in Singapore and has since expanded his distinctive artistic talent across various media, including sculpture, installation, and performance. His works have been exhibited worldwide, including in Germany, Italy, Austria, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, Korea, and Denmark, and he has participated in numerous artist residencies. A significant figure in Singapore’s art scene, he served as vice president of The Artists Village and the Sculpture Society Singapore. In 2004, he founded the Your MOTHER Gallery, one of Singapore's most notable underground art spaces, which he has been running for 20 years. In 2018, he co-founded the Wuwei Performance Series, furthering his commitment to experimental and community-based art. In 2023, he was awarded the 2023 UOB Painting of the Year (Singapore) for his pen-and-ink drawing ‘Gulliver’s Travels,’ a project he developed over two decades, solidifying his position as a key figure in contemporary Southeast Asian art. Hiah views art as an active engagement with reality and has consistently organized and curated charity exhibitions to support victims of natural disasters and war, such as the ‘Anti-War’ exhibition which aided those affected by conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine. His works are held in major institutional collections, including the Singapore Art Museum, the National Gallery Singapore, the ASIATOPIA Foundation in Thailand, and AIR 3331 in Japan. Most recently, his work was also acquired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Singapore.