Paul Chan

Driven by the conceptual and formal possibilities of the tension between light and dark, and good and evil, Paul Chan is best known for his projected animations that use shadows and silhouettes to engage cultural commentary and contemporary modes of communication. In an extended series of animated videos (featured prominently in his 2008 solo exhibition “The 7 Lights” at the New Museum), a diverse cast of objects, symbols, and characters fall through the air in an eerie nod to catastrophes and phenomena like September 11th, the Apocalypse, and the Rapture. His practice also includes text-based paintings, posters, and books that explore allegorical themes including technology, spirituality, war, and death. In the same way that Chan’s shadow animations suggest new definitions for familiar symbols, his texts create alternate readings. One poster, plastered throughout the streets of New York City, read, “You think things will end. And that will be the opening. I want you to know things don’t think to end. And that is the promise and the threat.”