TREMBLING (2015)       

 

At Sidney Nolan Gallery, TREMBLING was installed outdoor in the gallery garden.

 

The artwork expresses a view that our daily lives are under some level of social pressure, caused from personal to collective tension. Tension presents in a wide range of situations - from a small scale such as family tension, a routine event in life such as professional tension – to a lager scale such as poverty, a violent scene such as crime and war. We all live in a social structure. In the social science there is a dichotomy whether an agency (individual) acts as a free agent or in a manner dictated by (social) structure.

 

The piece combines natural and artificial materials, using dried leaves attach on pieces of plastic carrier bag. The leaves represent agencies (individuals) and life that is variable and fragile. In contrast, plastic is an enduring material. It reinforces the structure and maintains the presence of the leaves. These individual elements - leaf attached on plastic - were tied to metal screws with thread to arrange a random-look composition. The installation interacts with the wind, which brings a trembling reaction. 

 

It is a play between fragility and endurance. The juxtaposition of natural and artificial materials, and its tensional movement is a metaphor to the debate. Looking from a distance, they look simply like fall leaves on the grass. Giving it a closer look, one would hear the conversation.

 

I documented it with video and left the installation outdoor overnight. In the next morning I found that the materials were soaked in moisture. Therefore, I realized that the work is not for an outdoor installation, but requires to be installed in a natural environment. To make a video documentation of the piece is perhaps the outcome at this stage.

 

I think, the decision to combine natural and synthetic material is also a consequence of myself had a sudden change of working environment - from the usual chaotic urban scene in London to the pristine nature in Wales.