Conceptual gestures, unread books and situations
By Ian Tee

Heman Chong, ‘Labyrinths (Libraries)’, 2022, exhibition view of ‘(Free) Trade’. Image courtesy of the artist, STPI and ROH.

In common parlance, the words “labyrinth” and “maze” are often used interchangeably to mean a complex network of paths in which one can become lost. However, there are two key distinctions between them. Unlike a maze which branches out into numerous paths, a labyrinth has a single route to its centre and no dead ends. As such, the structure is often used as a tool for quieting the mind and fostering contemplation. By activating this symbol, Heman Chong’s latest solo exhibition ‘Labyrinths (Libraries)’ at ROH, Jakarta, similarly invites viewers to follow a path of thinking. The exhibition continues ROH’s collaboration with STPI, following a presentation of his works in Art Jakarta 2022.

The show reveals a slice of the artist’s trans-disciplinary practice and his idiosyncratic approach to conceptualism. It gathers several bodies of work across painting, performance, and installation. Here, the labyrinth as a symbol and structure is also useful in thinking about Chong’s practice. Though varied in form, his works are strung together by winding threads of connection. It meanders but there are no dead ends.

“Here, the labyrinth as a symbol and structure is also useful in thinking about Chong’s practice. Though varied in form, his works are strung together by winding threads of connection. It meanders but there are no dead ends. ”

‘Everything (Wikipedia)’ (2016) is a durational performance in which a performer recites Wikipedia’s Page of the Day from a mobile device while walking around the gallery. They can decide which hyperlinks to follow on the encyclopaedic website as they continue to read aloud for a predetermined number of hours. In his catalogue text, the artist describes the action as a “futile attempt to vocalise a representation of the entirety of human knowledge”. Even though a seemingly infinite amount of information is available at our fingertips, a person’s capacity to engage with it is limited. ‘Everything’ lays bare the contradiction behind an ambitious knowledge-sharing project such as Wikipedia. An edition of this work is in the Singapore Art Museum’s collection and iterations of ‘Everything’ have been performed at Rockbund Art Museum in Shanghai and National Gallery Singapore.

On a more personal level, Chong seems to have found an answer to the conundrum of book recommendations he has not found the time for: to paint them. ‘Cover (Versions)’ (2009 – ongoing) is a series of book cover paintings of books which the artist had not read at the time they were produced. Employing the language of graphic design, these book covers are abstract in appearance and content. They are not interpretations of their respective titles and truly resist the notion of judging a book by its cover.

Within the exhibition, ‘Cover (Versions)’ is displayed in a cluster among a new set of paintings titled ‘Labyrinths (Libraries)’ (2022 – ongoing). This series features two layers of colour fields composed within the structure of a tight grid. Visually, they resemble bookshelves with rows of book spines. Just like how ‘Cover (Versions)’ play at the relationship between textual and non-textual forms, ‘Labyrinths (Libraries)’ highlight the space between books.

Heman Chong, ‘Labyrinths (Libraries)’, 2022, exhibition view. Image courtesy of the artist, STPI and ROH.

At the heart of the exhibition is ‘(Free) Trade’ (2022), a new work that appropriates the architecture of an art fair booth. However, the booth and its white walls are curiously empty. It sits like a minimalist sculpture in the gallery, a stage for something to happen. In the catalogue text, ROH Founder Jun Tirtadji writes about the gesture of divesting the booth architecture of its association with commerce. Instead, Chong invites audiences to consider it a “space to trade ideas and thoughts between each other”. In other words, the proposition is an imagining of this temporary structure as a kind of social sculpture. That said, how might this empty booth function in other contexts, especially with non-art audiences? The implications of ‘(Free) Trade’ remain to be seen.

Installation view of Heman Chong's The Library of Unread Books (2016-ongoing), as part of Singapore Biennale 2022 named Natasha. Image courtesy of Singapore Art Museum.

Heman Chong, ‘God Bless Diana’, 2004, 550 photographs printed as postcards, 13.8 x 9.5 cm each. Collection of Singapore Art Museum. Installation view, ‘Living Pictures: Photography in Southeast Asia’, National Gallery Singapore 2022. Image courtesy of Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures.

Chong’s interest in systems is evident in two other major works currently on view in Singapore: ‘Library of Unread Books’ presented as part of Singapore Biennale 2022, and ‘God Bless Diana’ (2004) in ‘Living Pictures: Photography in Southeast Asia’ at National Gallery Singapore. The former extends his preoccupation with books, manifesting as a depository of knowledge that is not accessed. ‘God Bless Diana’ transforms the gallery into a gift shop, with postcards by the artist for sale. Again, Chong creates a situation that subverts normative expectations for a given space: a library you cannot borrow from; photographs in a gallery you can not only touch but buy for a dollar; an art fair booth with nothing to sell. Yet, they are also scenarios as fodder for conversation, bringing people together in unpredictable ways.

This article is presented in partnership with STPI.

Heman Chong’s solo exhibition ‘Labyrinths (Libraries)’ is on view from 10 December 2022 to 12 February 2023 at ROH, Jakarta.

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