Leona Craig Art Gallery

Talking Dogs---Tang Hai Guo Solo Exhibition

11 Guigang 3rd Road，frist floor，Yue Xiu District，Guangzhou，Guangdong，PRC

Talking Dogs

The more I see of men, the more I like dogs. ---Romain Rolland
The feeling I have for dogs started in 2009. My child was not born at the time. I had a black and white papillon, it was a little puppy, and it brought us a lot of fun. However, after three months, it got lost when we took it out for a walk. My wife was too sad to eat for days, she even cried for it. Since then, I have had a special feeling for dogs.
According to research, the dog is one of the first animals to be trained by humans. In my opinion, the dog is a very intelligent animal, it is a symbol of loyalty and justice. Generally, there are two kinds of dogs, wild dogs and family dogs. For wild dogs, they grow up in the wild, they get used to the law of the jungle，the survival of the fittest. On the other hand, family dogs are trained and being in captivity, they are loyal to their masters.
Since 2009, I have painted around 30 dogs in this series: some of them are wearing glasses and a tie, acting like an official, some of them are wearing Chinese stomachers, some of them are wearing headphones, listening to music. They are standing, lying or squatting. They are happy, depressed, confused, or angry. Isn’t that the life we have in big cities like this? I try to put some light elements like clouds and falling flowers into my works, they are the symbol of uncertainty and floating. These dogs, just like people living in the metropolis, are also uncertain about the future. Under the prosperous appearance, things are not real. As time goes on, the prosperous, just like falling flowers, fade out. I try to make the clouds light as a foil for the heavy mood of these dogs. They come to the metropolis for more freedom, however, people these days have too much status and material things, all these restrict the freedom they deserve. However, we have to accept the heavy outcome from the desire we run for. In this case, freedom is just like a dream. For my dogs, I try to paint their faces like real human beings - they are acting different roles, telling us different stories about life, explaining their relationships between humans and nature, as well as human to human. In this society, it symbolizes the falling apart and rebuilding of the undesirable phenomena in the modern world.

Tang Hai Guo