But Now I Manufacture Hate, Every Single Day

2011 - Sculpture (Sculpture)

Various dimensions

Huang Xiaopeng

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Four knives appearing as if thrown at the wall to alleviate frustration and boredom, form rhythmic shadows and markings of time above a translated phrase boldly printed in simplified Chinese and English. While the English reads “But Now I Manufacture Hate, Every Single Day,” the Chinese, resultant from Google Translate in 2011, reads awkwardly to something meaning “now I manufacture black special.” The term “black special” is derived from a transliteration of the word “hate” into the sound “heite”, where the corresponding written characters literally denote “black special”. The rigidity of the machine translation also preserved the syntax of English, forcing the Chinese to crudely abide by English grammar. With the emotional force of the word “hate” blunted and subverted by the translation, Huang’s piece highlights the manner in which the commodification of emotion and language in contemporary technocratic mass culture jam communication in the name of democratic literacy.

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Huang Xiaopeng is a video and installation artist. He explores the role of language, (mis)translation, and technology in international “cultural exchanges,” highlighting the production of political paradoxes, absurdity, and violence that result from attempts to produce exact translations. He often creates installations involving text and public space, linking together writing, typography, image, and video. He studied at Slade School of Fine Art in London and was a Professor of Fine Arts at Guangzhou Academy of Fine Art, China.

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Colors:

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• language.n.01
• technology.n.01
• translation.n.01
• communication.n.01
• inequality.n.01
• dominance.n.02