Cong Chen
Chinese, born 2001

The Roles We Become
2026
Five-panel oil painting on canvas
Each panel 50 × 70 cm

Inspired by Prometheus, Tantalus, Argus, Sisyphus, and the Three Graces, this series reimagines these mythological figures as five social archetypes: the Giver, the Seeker, the Observer, the Resister, and the Collaborator. Together, they form a social system shaped by sacrifice, desire, surveillance, struggle, and mutual dependence, reflecting on how individuals adjust themselves in order to participate in and adapt to society.