Reading by an Artist
Reading by an Artist
2023 - ongoing
Reading by an Artist is akin to a metaphysical portrait captured in long exposure, without the usual photographic apparatus of a camera and the end product of a photograph. In each session, a 'likeness' of the sitter, reminiscent to a print being developed in the darkroom, gradually comes into sharper focus as one obtains clarity of the intrinsic qualities in one's life and the constellation of choices which shapes them.
Amidst the terse relay between eye, mind, body and machine, the vagaries of human fate and destiny seem to be the last-standing frontier that have eluded the effacing grasp of digital decoding and artificial intelligence. Nonetheless, countless ancient systems of knowledge have drawn upon philosophy, astronomy and metaphysics in an attempt to distill the fundamental nature of reality and principles of being. The artist, for one, views human destiny as an epic codex not just simply to be perused, but to be interpreted and translated into tangible action to empower one’s life.
In this performance artwork, the artist embodies his search for meaning, purpose and identity by adopting the technique of zi wei dou shu (紫微斗数), a metaphysical philosophy dating back to imperial China, to forecast events in the life of invited participants and illuminate insights to challenges. Integrating knowledge from geomancy to Chinese medicine and elements, the approach involves computing charts based on one’s birth timing to intuit interrelationships between various core “palaces” of life such as health, kinship and career.
The readings, conducted in hour-long durations, welcome anyone and everyone seeking advice. Reflecting on dual roles of an artist and visionary in triangulating causality, necessity and possibility, the artwork contemplates on critical junctures where art ceases and life begins. It questions how knowledge gathering through seemingly unconventional routes reconciles with an increasingly contrived reality which is exceedingly scripted and post-produced.
Beyond the simplistic outcome of donning a pair of glasses and watching the world come into focus, literacy in this context for participants extends beyond the textual and visual world, into the realm of the self, in discerning and navigating the path forward for one’s betterment.
- Text by Kong Yen Lin
Installation view at FOST Gallery, Singapore
Installation view at Objectifs, Singapore
The Testimonial Series
With this performance, I have also created The Testimonial Series, which are comments and feedback contributed by participants describing their thoughts and experiences after the reading. It is kind of a subversion of the typical art and exhibition reviews by cultural critics and tastemakers, as in this context, an upset of the power balance, as this time the everyday man gets a chance to review the "art". It is also quite a tongue-in-cheek reference to contemporary culture, where we have now become so reliant on Internet reviews of products and services to make the simplest decisions like where to eat and what to buy. In a way, I hope The Testimonial Series also embodies this spirit of review writing and reading, and stands as a marker of the contemporary age.
