GEORGE TOWN, Jan 4 — A tiny tram moves through mirrored space lined with running lights, evoking a journey through a time long gone.
An iPhone box holds a miniature public phone booth leaning against it, with a tiny man staring into his smartphone balanced on top.
A broken styrofoam box reveals pint-sized polar bears and melting glaciers within, all crafted from the same plastic material.
These miniature worlds — some sculpted and upcycled from common materials — each serve as social commentaries on modern life: from the cutting down of trees for furniture as monkeys look on, to neverending consumption symbolised by a figure staring into a box within a box within a box, and the long queues commonly seen at women’s public toilets.
Hong Kong artist Sim Chan’s solo exhibition ‘The Infinite-land (Penang)’ at Blank Canvas, which opened on December 7, 2025 here showcases more than just cute miniature works; each world tells its own story through carefully placed figurines for maximum impact.
The exhibition features three series.
‘In Endlessness’ is a series of 19 miniature worlds where sculpted figurines are arranged within a mirrored backdrop that each narrates one story, providing two perspectives.
The second series, ‘Windowscapes’, are three light installation works set against the exhibition wall, and function like paintings when illuminated from within.
Under the ‘Wandering’ series, 11 small moving ‘cable cars’ glide seamlessly across the exhibition space, each made from milk and juice cartons carved with intricate windows offering views inside.
Each ‘cable car’ contains a miniature world, including one featuring orange trees inside an orange juice carton and another depicting brown cows within a chocolate milk carton.
Chan also incorporated Penang influences into several works, including a miniature scene of devotees smashing coconuts during Thaipusam encased in a hollowed-out speaker, Pinang trees placed inside a claw machine, a tram that once ran on Penang’s roads, and durian balloons that visitors can win from a gacha machine.
Two of the works are interactive exhibits, with a claw machine allowing visitors to try their luck at winning a miniature Pinang tree, and a gacha machine offering miniature works, postcards, or durian balloons.
Blank Canvas project manager Koe Gaik Cheng said visitor numbers surged on weekends and public holidays, prompting the gallery to extend the exhibition.
She said the limited space required the gallery to impose a one-hour time limit per visit to manage crowd control.
“It is truly heartening to see how Penangites have embraced my miniature worlds,” Chan said.
“By extending the show, we hope to welcome even more people to discover the familiar local elements we’ve woven into these fantastical spaces,” he added.
‘The Infinite-land (Penang)’ is showing at Blank Canvas, 85 Lorong Soo Hong, George Town, Penang, from 12pm to 7pm, Thursday to Monday, until February 23.
For tickets and more information, please visit https://www.instagram.com/blankcanvas.penang/.
