Arts preview: Lights, camera, mirrors in Kenny Wong Chi-chuen’s “Squint”
Bernice Chan
SQUINT: KINETIC LIGHT INSTALLATION AND AUDIOVISUAL PERFORMANCE
Videotage
Media artist Kenny Wong Chi-chuen is fascinated by light, particularly how it reflects on objects such as buildings and mobile phones.
"When I take the bus in the late afternoon, when the light shines on the trees, there's a kind of flickering sensation from the branches and leaves that feels natural and in the moment," he says.
His latest exhibition, "Squint", attempts to recreate and extend that moment with an installation of 50 large mirrors placed at different angles in a clean white space.
"The viewers can walk into the space and see the mirrors and, in the meantime, there is a camera tracking them. The mirrors are arranged such that they create patterns," Wong says.
"Squint" is an offshoot of his previous work, 10Hz , that attempted to stimulate alpha waves in the brain to induce a state in which people are relaxed with their eyes closed but aren't tired or asleep. For that piece, the viewer sat in a chair that was mechanically elevated into a covered, dark space, with tuning forks rotating around them and with light projected on them in various colours. The tuning forks were struck to create vibrations intended to stimulate the alpha waves.
In "Squint", there is not only the play on light and reflection, but also sound. Wong has collaborated with Dennis Wong (no relation), described as an improviser, experimentalist and noise practitioner. Dennis "creates context and sound texture with urban soundscapes" to add more layers.
"This is a topic I've thought about for many years," says Kenny about how we see light. "I'm hoping to talk to visitors after they experience the work and get some feedback."
On January 18, Dennis will present noises he recorded on 13 streets in Ma Tau Kok and remixed to create a sound performance, which will be enhanced by Kenny's installation as its lights pulsate in time with the sound.
Videotage, unit 13, Cattle Depot Artist Village, 63 Ma Tau Kok Road, To Kwa Wan. January 4-31, 12pm-7pm. Performance: January 18, 7.15pm-8.30pm, free. Inquiries: [email protected], tel: 2573 1869