In 2009, when he was still only in his mid-twenties, Chinese artist He Xiangyu shot to fame with ‘Cola Project’, for which he took thousands of litres of Coca-Cola and reduced them down to a coal-like, brittle substance. These dried-out clumps of Coke were then piled up in the Wall Art Museum in Beijing to resemble a bare, sloping mountain, reminiscent of an environmentally and culturally degraded landscape, ruined by mass consumption. This piece predictably attracted the anger of the global soda giant, but He had already made his point. Although not as provocative as 'Cola Project', his paintings and video pieces displayed at this Azabu show are similarly clever and challenging, drawing the viewer in with innovative use of yellow and hint at the colour's many social, visual and bodily meanings.
'Save the Date' is also on at Yanaka's Scai the Bathhouse (from October 28 to November 26).