Ho Rui An’s video Ultimate Coin Test China High-Speed Rail (2018) offers a playful critique of China’s rapid modernisation and the fetish of stability within the chaos of late capitalism. Ho appropriates a viral internet phenomenon, in which passengers on Chinese bullet trains film coins standing perfectly upright on their edges at speeds exceeding 300km/h, proving the incredible smoothness and engineering stability of China’s rail network. His video highlights how hyper-modern infrastructure projects symbolise global economic acceleration, in contrast with the often overlooked labour, geopolitical reach, and capital circulation that fuel it.
Ho Rui An explores shifting relations between images and power in global capitalism. His works use the forms of lectures, essays, and films. He’s presented projects at the 2018 Gwangju Biennale, 2017 Jakarta Biennale, 2017 Sharjah Biennial, and 2014 Kochi-Muziris Biennale; and at Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, 2017; Jorge B. Vargas Museum and Filipiniana Research Center, Manila, 2017; NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, 2017; and Para Site, Hong Kong, 2015. In 2018, he was a fellow of the DAAD Berliner Künstlerprogramm. He lives in Singapore and Berlin.
