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Phuan Thai Meng Malaysia, b. 1974
In Malaysia, an identity card (Mykad) stores an individual's personal information, biometric data, and other essential details. However, beyond its function as a data management tool, it also indirectly reflects the ethnic and class distinctions present within Malaysian society.
The IC Project is an art initiative focused on conversation and the issuance of new identity cards to its participants. This project seeks to stimulate reflections on each person's relationship with themselves and their sense of place through dialogues and the exchange of life experiences with diverse individuals.
The artist, through the creation and issuance of new identity cards, aims to position themselves as if they are the ones controlling and shaping the 'rules of the game.' However, this isn't an attempt to manipulate power. Instead, this action serves to establish a new discourse methodology within the realm of power, questioning whether our conceptions of body and place identity can extend into new possibilities beyond the existing framework. To a certain extent, this simulated ID card is not just an "identity card" but also a mapping of the participant's own relationship between the body and place. At a certain level, this simulated ID card serves not just as a new "identity card" but also as a self-mapping of the participant's personal relationship with their own land.
These ID cards encompass the participant's past and current places of residence, as well as their envisioned future place of abode. Additionally, each ID card features a QR code associated with the cardholder's conversation, which may contain text, video clips, or even an online link related to the conversation session or reflecting the interviewee's thoughts.
On this ID card, the name, profile picture, and even the designation of "nationality" are all customized based on the participant's preferences and choices. Beyond this personal information, the reverse side of the card showcases a unique "place" designed based on their mobility history—a piece of "land" exclusively belonging to them.