KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 ― Artist Tang Mun Kian has been chosen to participate in a special exhibition at the Macao International Art Biennale 2021 (Art Macao 2021).
Known for this “Marking George Town” sculptures (which use steel rods and are mounted on walls all over the city) in Penang, Tang ― who is the artistic and creative director of Sculptureatwork ― is the mastermind behind the series of steel sculptures for the exhibition titled “Juxtapose.”
Art Macao 2021 is a four-month long international cultural and artistic biennale led by the Institute for Cultural Bureau of Macao government with the theme “To Create for Well-being.”
The Galaxy Entertainment Group Foundation (GEG) commissioned Sculptureatwork, under Tang’s art direction, to create steel sculptures for the special exhibition that pays homage to Macao’s rich history over four centuries.
According to Tang, GEG Foundation noticed “Marking George Town” on Sculptureatwork’s website and contacted them for a collaboration to participate in Art Macao 2021.
He said he was surprised that GEG Foundation had chosen them to be a part of a large-scale curated exhibition of contemporary art in Macau.
“I was quite surprised and couldn’t figure out why they wanted us to be part of it,” he said in an email interview.
He thought his works were too site-specific, very subtle and didn’t have the grandness or a “spectacle feel” to become part of Art Macao 2021.
“And also, I was a bit worried as all I knew about Macao then were egg tarts and St Paul’s ruin,” he said.
He said he went to Macao and presented the work that he did for “Marking George Town” to GEG Foundation and they liked the honesty and wittiness of his work.
So, they were commissioned to produce works for “Juxtapose”, an exhibition to promote not only arts and culture in Macau but also the importance of heritage conservation and a better understanding and appreciation of Macao’s rich history of over four centuries, in particular the East West mix that made Macao what it is today.
Tang and his team at Sculptureatwork visited Macao in 2019 to start work on the collaboration where he drew inspiration from the visit to come up with a series of sketches that could best encapsulate Macao’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage including its history, architecture, people, local cuisine and the people’s life stories.
“We were originally expected to deliver the project in 2020 but the exhibition was postponed to this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
It took the Sculptureatwork team about eight months to conceptualise the project from sketching the stories, designing the sculptures, and fabricating it into 3D steel sculptures.
“A total of 11 pieces of wire sculpture were created by a team of 12 that consist of designers and craftsmen,” Tang said.
He said the process of creating the sculptures, from sketches to measuring, cutting, bending, welding and crafting of the Chinese words, was stressful and painfully slow.
The Covid-19 pandemic also interrupted their work flow and caused shipping delays but fortunately, they were still able to send the completed sculptures over so GEG Foundation can install the work before the opening of the exhibition.
Tang is thankful that he and his team managed to complete the works and showcase it at an international art exhibition despite the pandemic.
After this, he hopes to create more art pieces that reflect historical stories that were omitted from history books and were forgotten.
“I’d love to tell stories about their lives, I’m not sure how... maybe in a different format and longer form,” he said.
The Art Macao 2021 festival features both physical exhibitions and online 3D showcases.
“Juxtapose” is open to the public from July 20 to October 31 at GalaxyArt, located within The Promenades at the Galaxy Macau resort in Macao.
The show is also available online here.
