Signal Lost
A studio specific installation
Pain, suffering and to understand the human dilemma, the human nature - motivated me to begin work on Signal Lost. There's a lot of discontent these days, exacerbated by the recent lockdown in Malaysia, exacerbated by my own personal feelings of a relationship I've been in and under. Signal Lost features objects (sometimes found, most of the time hoarded) from my own collection. For example, Malbec red wine bottles which were drunk in 2018. The year I had too much, but also the year I stopped drinking. The bottles signify excess. Excess of thoughts, of behaviour, of progress. I'm exploring the dichotomy between progress (which is usually defined as something that trends upwards) and the feedback that it produces - What remnants do we leave behind? What are the costs of advancement? What things do we have to consider, to prune?
The Social Distancing marks and lines - Implores freedom lost. Distance breeds disconnection. The worst thing about the pandemic in Malaysia, is the inevitable disappearance of collective reasoning and togetherness. What's crucial and important isn't being discussed. Inclusivity, empathy and connectedness are the things we need right now. It's fundamental.
Signal Lost is a shrine and tableaux to the disappearance of humanity in our culture, of liberations lost. The strings symbolise how everything in the natural world (and the synthetic world) is somehow attached and interconnected with one another. Symbolically, it plays on the interrelationships between objects and feelings. Desires and outcomes. Consciousness and dreams. One thing affects the other. Technology plays an important part of our lives today. In spite of this, the questions remain - What is its role? What are the implications of the waste and clutter we leave behind? Who (or which groups) do we leave behind in this process of empowerment and progress?
Recently I've been witness to some terrible and difficult examples of the human condition. It took a lot away from me. I've had similar experiences before - Living with addiction, despair, egotism, inflicting self harm, destructive characteristics, being broke and depressed, suicidal tendencies and thoughts - So much so, I've allowed my own (protected very much in the past) awareness - to be party in the situations. In doing so, I've expended my own flame. This happened gradually over the past many weeks and even months. Who knows what the timeline is anymore. I've been so riddled with this dilemma that I've become numb to everything. Hence, the symbolic nature of the cameras in the work - the ego and individuality. The need for self praise, self reflection and framing. People tend to frame themselves in a certain way, in a certain light. Whether it's for self actualisation, self healing, awareness, to build a storyline, a narrative, a concept of self - Is left to be defined by the individual. No one is totally wrong or right. It's through reflection, adjustment, change and in pushing forward to be a better person by little margins everyday - That we fulfil our destiny as optimal human beings and useful members of society.
The empty chairs symbolises the Watcher. The one who is aware, who watches and observes. The one who questions, who seeks answers. Its proponent in the work - the bust of the Buddha, represents the act of seeking. The journey towards enlightenment. It asks, where do we find our true selves? In Signal Lost, I'm alluding to the search. The conquest. The romantic notion that we must seek, find, discover, liberate. Take the adventure. And when it's found, to bring home the riches and share the spoils of victory. That's what conquests are for.
Making Signal Lost and the clearing of the studio was for me, a part of a healing process. A way for me to exorcise the ghosts of the past and present. In making this work, I hoped to free up energy and the creative consciousness that has been a little blocked. It's unfair for me to speak ill about my situation, because every cloud has a silver lining. I hope to find mine.
Nicholas Choong, 10th-14th May, 2021
A studio specific installation
Pain, suffering and to understand the human dilemma, the human nature - motivated me to begin work on Signal Lost. There's a lot of discontent these days, exacerbated by the recent lockdown in Malaysia, exacerbated by my own personal feelings of a relationship I've been in and under. Signal Lost features objects (sometimes found, most of the time hoarded) from my own collection. For example, Malbec red wine bottles which were drunk in 2018. The year I had too much, but also the year I stopped drinking. The bottles signify excess. Excess of thoughts, of behaviour, of progress. I'm exploring the dichotomy between progress (which is usually defined as something that trends upwards) and the feedback that it produces - What remnants do we leave behind? What are the costs of advancement? What things do we have to consider, to prune?
The Social Distancing marks and lines - Implores freedom lost. Distance breeds disconnection. The worst thing about the pandemic in Malaysia, is the inevitable disappearance of collective reasoning and togetherness. What's crucial and important isn't being discussed. Inclusivity, empathy and connectedness are the things we need right now. It's fundamental.
Signal Lost is a shrine and tableaux to the disappearance of humanity in our culture, of liberations lost. The strings symbolise how everything in the natural world (and the synthetic world) is somehow attached and interconnected with one another. Symbolically, it plays on the interrelationships between objects and feelings. Desires and outcomes. Consciousness and dreams. One thing affects the other. Technology plays an important part of our lives today. In spite of this, the questions remain - What is its role? What are the implications of the waste and clutter we leave behind? Who (or which groups) do we leave behind in this process of empowerment and progress?
Recently I've been witness to some terrible and difficult examples of the human condition. It took a lot away from me. I've had similar experiences before - Living with addiction, despair, egotism, inflicting self harm, destructive characteristics, being broke and depressed, suicidal tendencies and thoughts - So much so, I've allowed my own (protected very much in the past) awareness - to be party in the situations. In doing so, I've expended my own flame. This happened gradually over the past many weeks and even months. Who knows what the timeline is anymore. I've been so riddled with this dilemma that I've become numb to everything. Hence, the symbolic nature of the cameras in the work - the ego and individuality. The need for self praise, self reflection and framing. People tend to frame themselves in a certain way, in a certain light. Whether it's for self actualisation, self healing, awareness, to build a storyline, a narrative, a concept of self - Is left to be defined by the individual. No one is totally wrong or right. It's through reflection, adjustment, change and in pushing forward to be a better person by little margins everyday - That we fulfil our destiny as optimal human beings and useful members of society.
The empty chairs symbolises the Watcher. The one who is aware, who watches and observes. The one who questions, who seeks answers. Its proponent in the work - the bust of the Buddha, represents the act of seeking. The journey towards enlightenment. It asks, where do we find our true selves? In Signal Lost, I'm alluding to the search. The conquest. The romantic notion that we must seek, find, discover, liberate. Take the adventure. And when it's found, to bring home the riches and share the spoils of victory. That's what conquests are for.
Making Signal Lost and the clearing of the studio was for me, a part of a healing process. A way for me to exorcise the ghosts of the past and present. In making this work, I hoped to free up energy and the creative consciousness that has been a little blocked. It's unfair for me to speak ill about my situation, because every cloud has a silver lining. I hope to find mine.
Nicholas Choong, 10th-14th May, 2021