Hell looks quite jolly if it is like the one designed by Ho Sin-tung.
Visitors to the Hong Kong artist’s latest exhibition are welcomed by an animated neon sign showing a pair of hands supporting an overspilling bowl, the stream of liquid in the middle resembling the stem of a cocktail glass, and the name Circe glowing invitingly on one side.
Beneath it is a five-step display stand for what appears to be cheap tourist tat: fridge magnets, crystal globes, keychains and ashtrays. It would be encouraging if Hell had souvenirs. As the exhibition guide points out, souvenirs only exist when there is a place to go back to.
In this Hell you can choose postcards – each printed with the word Hell in a different language – and browse the painted selection of cocktails, not that these look very enticing even though they have nice tropical island backdrops.
One looks like blood and is swarming with flies, and another seems to come with a pair of goldfish. Even more unsettling is the mirror with a gun next to it. Apparently, that is inspired by Spanish writer Javier Marías’ 1992 novel A Heart so White, in which a bride shot herself in the heart just after the honeymoon.