Reading into So This Is Real Life and Wuhan Punk

Exhibition: So This Is Real Life

So what is real life when everything is deconstructed, reimagined in the most musically DIY ways, and redistributed to the masses? This is the exhibition at John Hansard, which, at first glance, shows a punk montage of collages, posters, pins and fashion. See the famous Vivienne Westwood DESTROY shirt before she became a high-end brand, or witness the pins-and-flyers cabinet, which looks like an emo teenager’s room. It is this power to recreate from scratch and dirt that this exhibition shares, visualising punk moments and the moments after.

As a grunge fan, I stepped into the realm of punk as I dug into the history. The world of punk amazes me and has had my heart since I fell in love as a teen. The establishment of my whole visual language was highly influenced by punk ethos and graphics, so seeing the actual work of punks feels like a pilgrimage.

Many have resonated with this exhibition, as the music genre and art form have a relatively young history. Like how the exhibition traces a timeline from punk thoughts to post-punk inspirations, we must look at the before and after of how a music generation is inspired and inspires.

It reminds me of the book, There's A Riot Going On: Revolutionaries, Rock Stars, and the Rise and Fall of '60s Counter-Culture, which discusses the history of the political movement from 1965 to 1972 that prepared the world for the music that came after.

The influence is always two-way, as the book Blank Canvas: Art School Creativity From Punk to New Wave addresses how twentieth-century UK Art School creativity, philosophies, and practices have influenced the development of punk, post-punk, and new wave musicians.

The exhibition also reminds me of how we can do it ourselves by starting to journal, like the ideas in the book Wreck This Journal: Now in Colour. It is about how we can start small revolutions, just by doodling away.

Finally, punk and post-punk are not just music genres; they are a reminder that we have the right to protest and be seen and heard. In the book, Your Right to Protest: Understand It, Use It, Christian Weaver shares practical ways to protest, not just in the streets, but in your community.

Chaos is born in times of instability. What is beautiful about punk and post-punk is that they left a lasting effect on our culture and ethos, showing us that we can do it ourselves and make things happen. So this is real life: a punk life grounded not only in powerful visual collage but also in a world of a self-imagined future.

Film: Wuhan Punk

I absolutely recommend staying for 12 minutes to watch Wuhan Punk. I like their slightly surreal storytelling of a personal story that overlaps with the city's history. Although I haven't been to Wuhan, the punk visuals definitely match the aesthetic of a Chinese industrial city.

The era it refers to is also my teen era, when China was much more liberal as a country, with many grey areas to step on. The talk of gays and gender was actually inspirational, the political discussion was not as censored, and social commentary was more allowed. Many of these concepts made it into pop culture, with films featuring celebrities and songs addressing social problems. Not exactly the good ol' days (still a highly censored society), more like the less sensitive days.

As the Asian diaspora spread around the world, they brought their unique style of influence into their new environment. Giant Robot: Thirty Years of Defining Asian American Pop Culture takes us into the world of Asian Americans who are influenced both by their own culture and the environment they grew up in to create a new form of art and graphical style. This style is surprisingly punk, yet also ‘pop’. The way ideas are shared knows no borders; as we globalise and connect, new ideas continually emerge. It is only a matter of trial and error to see what will come of it. Now, that…is punk!

All books available on Octoberbooks.org

Exhibition and film showing at John Hansard Gallery til 9th May, 2026

Post by Vera Chiu