+ details
The Horror, The Horror
2015 | APW | Kuala Lumpur
The title is a line taken from Joseph Conrad’s novel The Heart of Darkness and is premised on the idea that identity and meaning are complex and fluid, depending as much on what we choose to see or exclude. They are not inherent or unchanging.
The Horror, The Horror is my third solo exhibition. Set in a former printing press factory, the show marks my first serious attempt at incorporating “exhibition-making” into my practice. This involves identifying typical expectations of a Malaysian painting exhibition and challenging them—for example, the idea that copying is inherently opposed to creativity.
Related links
Related texts
Installation view
photo by Wee Seng
A Copy of A Copy / Camera Lucida
+ details
2015 | Oil on canvas | 24 x 17cm
This painting below is of Benedict Cumberbatch playing Alan Turing from the movie “The Imitation Game”. A tongue in cheek variation on the ideas of copying and repetition. This painting is placed away from the Turing portraits, to be found by the audience as an Easter egg.
Taking the idea of copying to its logical conclusion, all the portraits are made with the aid of a homemade Camera Lucida. This allows the copying of both form and tone. This contraption is shared with the audience for them to try.
Below are also examples of pencil drawings by audiences using the Camera Lucida during the exhibition.
+ details
Sisyphus
Oil on Canvas | 80 x 80cm | 2014
Sisyphus is a painting of an early computer memory. The image is taken from the internet. It was first featured in my 2nd solo exhibition, "The Pleasures of Odds and Ends". Part of the idea for that show is to imagine a series of paintings that extend beyond a single exhibition.
Sisyphus is placed together with the Turing portraits as a continuation of that show. As well as a nod to his contribution to the development of Computer Science.
Related links
Installation view
photo by Wee Seng