The Bulletin Board: Christine Shan Shan Hou
Playdate

March 19–April 30, 2022
Several artworks are installed in a gallery space. On the right hangs a bulletin board within a tripartite glass and aluminum casing, and on the left there are 16 collages arranged in two equal rows. In the background, two paintings by John Maclean installed in another room are visible.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022.

An installation view captured at an angle. On the right wall hangs a bulletin board, and on the left there are 16 collages arranged in two equal rows. A single painting by John Maclean hanging in another room is visible in the background.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022.

16 collages are hung in two rows of eight on a freestanding wall. The images, all in color, are taken from vintage magazines.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022.

A frontal view of a tripartite bulletin board encased in glass. It contains several poems written on paper decorated with children’s drawings that are hung with push pins. Various photographs and collages are arranged around the poems.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022.

A photograph on the bulletin board is hung using two silver binder clips attached to nails. The image shows a fox standing on its hind legs, and two strings with colored round beads have been attached to the fox’s front paws as a collage.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022.

A detailed view of one photograph hanging on the bulletin board, held up by two silver binder clips. The image shows a wildlife photo of a rodent, and a string with three round red beads with white polka dots has been attached to the animal’s mouth as a collage.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022.

A collage depicting a woman seated at a computer and turned towards the viewer. Cut-out images of a blue sea have been pasted onto the woman’s face and the computer screen.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, character study (lost at sea), 2022. Collage 4 × 5 in.

Cut-out images of pink, heart shaped cookies are arranged on top of an image depicting the Florence Cathedral, Palazzo Vecchio, and River Arno.

Christine Shan Shan Hou v-day, 2019. Collage 10 × 6.75

Press Release

White Columns is pleased to present Playdate, the first solo exhibition by poet and artist Christine Shan Shan Hou. On view in our project space, ‘The Bulletin Board’, Hou’s presentation includes a selection of poems and recent collages, and is accompanied by a zine of new writing.

Hou’s most recent book of poetry, titled The Joy and Terror are Both in the Swallowing was published by After Hours Editions in 2021. Diana Khoi Nguyen described the publication as an ‘explosively frontal collection…Hou’s scope traverses diverse terrains: from the female body in domestic situations to landscapes with predators and megafauna—to even the wilds of the afterlife, where ‘everyone lives in a hotel.’ These leaping, elliptical poems are darkly funny and full of pluck and verve. The speakers of these poems keeps one eye on the terrarium of contemporary life while keeping the other eye on watch for blink-and-you’ll-miss-it death.”

The selection of collages on view were all created between 2019 and 2022. Selecting images from vintage magazines, Hou creates scenes where often isolated objects – including women’s hands, sweets and flowers – hover in dreamlike landscapes. Writing about Hou’s collages for The New York Times, Jillian Steinhauer observed “Ms. Hou is a poet, and her collages… reflect that. With minimal means, she conjures a searching, often playful tone. Some are punlike, clever plays on words and visual tropes”. Hou views “both my poems and my collages like miniature worlds—each filled with their own characters, tastes, textures, and elements of strangeness and love.”

Christine Shan Shan Hou (b.1985, New Jersey) is a Hakka Chinese-American poet based in Brooklyn, New York. Publications include The Joy and Terror are Both in the Swallowing (After Hours Editions 2021) Community Garden for Lonely Girls (Gramma Poetry 2017),“I’m Sunlight” (The Song Cave 2016), C O N C R E T E S O U N D (2011) a collaborative artists’ book with Audra Wolowiec, and Accumulations (Publication Studio, Jank Editions 2010) featuring drawings by Hannah Rawe. Their poems and artwork have been featured in numerous journals and anthologies. They have received awards from The Key West Literary Seminar and The Flow Chart Foundation/Academy for American Poets.

Copies of The Joy and Terror are Both in the Swallowing (After Hours Editions 2021) and Playdate (The W.C. #58 2022) are available for sale at White Columns. White Columns will host a reading by Hou in April of 2022 (details forthcoming.)

For further information: info@whitecolumns.org

Checklist

Event

White Columns is pleased to present a reading in celebration of Christine Shan Shan Hou‘s exhibition Playdate.

Readings by Christine Shan Shan Hou, Wo Chan, Chia-Lun Chang, and Lynn Xu.

April 16, 2022

Publication

The W.C. #58 Christine Shan Shan Hou
2022

This zine was published to celebrate the exhibition, Playdate.

22 pages, color.

 

Several artworks are installed in a gallery space. On the right hangs a bulletin board within a tripartite glass and aluminum casing, and on the left there are 16 collages arranged in two equal rows. In the background, two paintings by John Maclean installed in another room are visible.
An installation view captured at an angle. On the right wall hangs a bulletin board, and on the left there are 16 collages arranged in two equal rows. A single painting by John Maclean hanging in another room is visible in the background.
16 collages are hung in two rows of eight on a freestanding wall. The images, all in color, are taken from vintage magazines.
A frontal view of a tripartite bulletin board encased in glass. It contains several poems written on paper decorated with children’s drawings that are hung with push pins. Various photographs and collages are arranged around the poems.
A photograph on the bulletin board is hung using two silver binder clips attached to nails. The image shows a fox standing on its hind legs, and two strings with colored round beads have been attached to the fox’s front paws as a collage.
A detailed view of one photograph hanging on the bulletin board, held up by two silver binder clips. The image shows a wildlife photo of a rodent, and a string with three round red beads with white polka dots has been attached to the animal’s mouth as a collage.
A collage depicting a woman seated at a computer and turned towards the viewer. Cut-out images of a blue sea have been pasted onto the woman’s face and the computer screen.
Cut-out images of pink, heart shaped cookies are arranged on top of an image depicting the Florence Cathedral, Palazzo Vecchio, and River Arno.

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022. (Several artworks are installed in a gallery space. On the right hangs a bulletin board within a tripartite glass and aluminum casing, and on the left there are 16 collages arranged in two equal rows. In the background, two paintings by John Maclean installed in another room are visible.)

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022. (An installation view captured at an angle. On the right wall hangs a bulletin board, and on the left there are 16 collages arranged in two equal rows. A single painting by John Maclean hanging in another room is visible in the background.)

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022. (16 collages are hung in two rows of eight on a freestanding wall. The images, all in color, are taken from vintage magazines.)

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022. (A frontal view of a tripartite bulletin board encased in glass. It contains several poems written on paper decorated with children’s drawings that are hung with push pins. Various photographs and collages are arranged around the poems.)

MY: Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022. (A photograph on the bulletin board is hung using two silver binder clips attached to nails. The image shows a fox standing on its hind legs, and two strings with colored round beads have been attached to the fox’s front paws as a collage.)

Christine Shan Shan Hou, installation view, 2022. (A detailed view of one photograph hanging on the bulletin board, held up by two silver binder clips. The image shows a wildlife photo of a rodent, and a string with three round red beads with white polka dots has been attached to the animal’s mouth as a collage.)

Christine Shan Shan Hou character study (lost at sea), 2022. Collage 4 × 5 in. (A collage depicting a woman seated at a computer and turned towards the viewer. Cut-out images of a blue sea have been pasted onto the woman’s face and the computer screen.)

Christine Shan Shan Hou v-day, 2019. Collage 10 × 6.75 (Cut-out images of pink, heart shaped cookies are arranged on top of an image depicting the Florence Cathedral, Palazzo Vecchio, and River Arno.)