Impressions
Browsing through Candice Ng’s work, I have come to be intrigued by the connections between human relations and objects. This is evident in her Exhibition “Sleep in the Power Sockets”.
Works
The works that peaked my interest the most was that of “New Artifacts of Remembering” and “Alternative Rituals of Remembering”.
New Artifacts of Remembering
A series of RFID ceramic dish wares, this exhibition explores the permanence of digital content. How can you make data sacred? Is it plausible that in the future inheritance would come in the form of digital content instead of material objects?
The act of trying to give these “heirlooms” a digital connotation is very interesting as here we see what Candice perceives as an amalgamation of the digital and physical.
Which in my opinion is not easy to do.
Alternative Rituals of Remembering
This artwork is a very intimate piece. Candice combines the common rituals we do for our deceased loved ones with more intimate pieces of their lives.
This piece in my opinion adds meaning into what we do for our loved ones, makes it feel that the memories of this person matter more than ever. If we perform the same ritual for everyone what proof is there that this person made an impact on your life? How is he or she different from everybody else?
Questions
How does Candice Ng’s work contribute to the ongoing public discussions about identity, in the context of Singapore and South-East Asia?
In this day and age where everything is getting increasingly digital, where all our works especially that of digital artists are mostly “Up in the cloud”.
How can we be sure that what we pass on to our loved ones, our blood sweat and tears, a piece of our identity, would be sacred when our life’s work is so easily accessible?
Candice’s work in my opinion contributes by getting people to ask questions about such matters.