Michael & Chiyan Ho 何麦克&何智仁

Michael and Chiyan Ho began making paintings together as a collaborative duo in 2019. Prior to starting this artistic relationship, Michael and Chiyan had both been studying at the Architectural Association together. Both came from second-generation Chinese immigrant households, and this shared interest in diasporic cultures generated not only a close friendship between the two, but also a particularly porous creative dynamic. Working organically together, Michael and Chiyan have developed a particularly distinctive and otherworldly visual language. Figures from both Eastern and Western mythology are brought to life in their canvases, each enveloped in dappled, amorphous patterns. This fluid material quality originated from the duo’s interest in the history of Chinese erotic painting. Since the cultural revolution, these paintings have been banned in China, with owners often hiding these works in cupboards or under beds. Putting this art history into practice, the pair decided to start each work by painting patterns and forms on the reverse of a stretched canvas, using these markings as the base for the figure to emerge from on the public side of the fabric. Eventually, the original painting on the reverse of the canvas is masked, blending with the secondary image. This interest in dualities, translation and transference pervades throughout their collaborative work. Operating in this shadowy realm, they continue to trace their experiences of living in between cultures.