KHIEW HUEY CHIAN'S INSTALLTION

I went to see an art exhibition called PRANA: ART LIGHT SPACE (curated by Brian Curtin) in late September. I was very impressed with an installation by Khiew Huey Chian. I forgot the name of the installation. It included many strings (or wires) attached from wall to wall. Some groups of strings were attached high, some a little bit low. You couldn’t walk through the strings. You have to kneel down, or bow down to get pass these strings in order to get inside the room.

Trying to find a way through all these strings made me feel like characters in the movie TURISTAS when they dived in the water cave and could only rise to the water surface to “breathe” from time to time. When I tried to get inside the room, I couldn’t walk with my back straight. I had to bow down or kneel down for a while until I reached the small area where the strings were attached so high that there were enough space for me to stand.

I don’t know the meaning of this installation. Is it a metaphor for life? We have to struggle and be patient for most of the time so that we can find a little time to relax. When I am working, I feel like I am diving. I feel as if I am holding my breath. I can only feel I am “breathing” when I finish my work.

I googled for Khiew Huey Chian and found a blog of R. Streitmatter-Tran, an artist who also participated in PRANA: ART LIGHT SPACE.

R. Streitmatter-Tran’s blog:
http://www.diacritic.org/blog/

He posted some photos of PRANA here:
http://www.diacritic.org/blog/archives/2007/08/prana_photos.htm

Below are some photos of Khiew Huey Chian’s installation. They were shot by my phone.