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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Sam Moore

Prisoners, cruising and Bruce Lee: how the world caught up with artist Martin Wong

Loaded with subtext … Tell My Troubles to the Eight Ball (Eureka), 1978-81.
Loaded with subtext … Tell My Troubles to the Eight Ball (Eureka), 1978-81. Photograph: © Martin Wong Foundation

There’s a painting on show at the new Martin Wong retrospective that demands closer inspection. At first, the 1988 piece entitled Heaven depicts a circular wall, notable for the immaculate detailing on the brickwork. But gaze closer and you see a small black hole in the middle of the painting, a detail that gives the work a loaded queer subtext.

Feels politically prophetic and like another planet … Prison Bunk Beds, 1988.
Feels politically prophetic and like another planet … Prison Bunk Beds, 1988. Photograph: © Martin Wong Foundation
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