Triptych is an installation that features three paintings (Televisions), six mobile devices, bamboo selfie sticks and sugarcane TV stands.
All the electronic devices were donated/borrowed from friends and family. The natural materials were taken from my parents’ garden. Combining both technology and living material from the natural world makes a statement that technology has now become an element in our ‘natural’ habitat.
The experience of the installation is curated in a way that allows viewers to respond and relate by seeing themselves mirrored in the installation, via their device screens with their front cameras on as they walked through the installation. All the cameras and screens on each device streamed different images from either the front camera or the back. As all devices were directed at different angles, they were not only mirroring the response of viewers within my installation space but also (unknown to the other visitors) the activity by the visitors that were interacting with the installations by the other artists within the vicinity.
A key aspect of Triptych is that all three paintings were broadcasting different visuals except for Painting 002, which was broadcasting a livestream from an undisclosed mobile device. This gesture of broadcasting a mobile screen device to a television produced a statement on how we are now able to create our own platforms to disseminate information.
It was very important to document / live stream the installations surrounding my space as Triptych was fundamentally created to contemplate our ecosystems and bring an awareness of ‘community’ and how we collectively can create our own platform.
A television is a device that broadcasts information into our homes. All of the information is being controlled and monitored by major broadcasting networks, which ultimately limits the platforms to certain powers.
Currently in 2019 it is estimated that 67% of the worldwide population owns a mobile device, and the number is forecasted to continue to grow with each coming year.
The beauty of the mobile device is that its prospects are subjective and dependent entirely on its owner. The mobile device gives the population a connection to the world. Even though the beginnings of the first prototype of the internet were funded by the US Department of Defense, ARPANET, the research and concept transfigured into the invention of the World Wide Web, accessible to the public. The poetics in the transfiguration lies in how it organically grew into a system that relied on the engagement and contribution to internet users from around the world; it became a fitting metaphor on the importance of community.
Awards
WED, OCT 30, 2019 Updated
Triptych (2019) at Creative Economy Week, Ruang, Brunei
Triptych (2019) at Creative Economy Week featuring the work by Meshminds SG
Triptych (2019) at Hari Belia (Youth Day)