BAD LUCK II | THOMAS LIU LE LANN
Thomas Liu Le Lann (Geneva, 1994) is a young artist who creates sculptures and installations using various materials. His work is intimate, born from encounters and personal experiences, an inner search to discover an identity that is not only artistic, characterized by a queer perspective, perhaps born in opposition to the strictly conservative education received at school.
A recurring element in Liu Le Lann’s work is the presence of “soft heroes”, inflatable mannequins that sometimes play the role of protagonists, while other times they are just supporting characters in a larger installation; in any case, they are always site-specific reinterpreted in different ways and then placed in the exhibition space.
The soft heroes can appear partially inflated or completely deflated, small enough to hold them in one’s arms, as tall as a person, or meters long. What remains unchanged about these mannequins is the lascivious position they assume in every installation variant.
Bad Luck II (2022) is an installation that appears as a cabin resembling those used for the popular claw crane game. With steel finishes and brown-colored exteriors, this vintage-styled cabin encloses one of the soft heroes created by the artist. Shockingly red and wearing a denim mask, the soft hero is curled up in a position that makes it look truly pitiful.
At the top of the cabin, in contrast to the work’s title, shines brightly the inscription “Good Luck”, a wish that, with a cynical glance, may seem to be addressed precisely to the hero trapped inside… An analogy capable of connecting the author and the viewer, who find themselves sharing the feeling of being trapped, unable to escape or avoid a certain condition.
Bad Luck II is a sincere, open, and introspective work that speaks of fragility and vulnerability, two themes that until a few years ago were considered taboo when related to the male figure, but which fortunately are increasingly addressed in contemporary discourse. In this artwork, the soft hero, in its flaccid and not particularly charismatic position, stands in opposition to the stereotyped and unrealistic figure of the masculine hero; an attempt to dismantle a model deeply rooted in the collective imagery of our society, although now effectively outdated.
Thomas Liu Le Lann
Bad Luck II, 2022
Plush crane, steel, vinyl, synthetic cotton, denim, 190 x 60 x 110 cm (74 3/4 x 23 9/16 x 43 1/4)
© Claude Cortinovis, courtesy Xippas Gallery
03/04/24