Tan Zi Hao Malaysian, b. 1989
Faux amber , 2023
Resin and keyboard keys
Dimensions variable
(5 pieces)
(5 pieces)
Edition of 3
The series of faux amber works deals with themes of mental burnout and of languishing. Meant to be small and intimate in scale, they relate to the artist's experience as...
The series of faux amber works deals with themes of mental burnout and of languishing. Meant to be small and intimate in scale, they relate to the artist's experience as a struggling researcher in neoliberal and corporatised academia, where educational institutions become obsessively managerial and hyperutilitarian.
In academia, one will often face months or years of writing and editing before a project is completed. But in an era of new managerialism, this research process of thinking is regarded as unproductive. During this period when sustained focus is key, one will also succumb to other institutional pressures, administrative duties, deadlines, distractions. Research and writing are an endless process, so as staring at screen, typing gibberish. The keyboard keys are like ghostly figures, they leer and grimace at you for your lack and inability to cope. In a way, these artworks become the artist's therapy. The keyboard keys, trapped in faux amber, fossilised, become graspable, yet unreachable.
In academia, one will often face months or years of writing and editing before a project is completed. But in an era of new managerialism, this research process of thinking is regarded as unproductive. During this period when sustained focus is key, one will also succumb to other institutional pressures, administrative duties, deadlines, distractions. Research and writing are an endless process, so as staring at screen, typing gibberish. The keyboard keys are like ghostly figures, they leer and grimace at you for your lack and inability to cope. In a way, these artworks become the artist's therapy. The keyboard keys, trapped in faux amber, fossilised, become graspable, yet unreachable.