A public-interactive art event
Part of "Entry Points", a contemporary art programme by 1948 Artspace

On the coming Merdeka weekend, the market-going public in Seri Kembangan new village will be greeted by a large size portrait of the historical figure Sir Harold Briggs, artfully composed of fruits and vegetables.

They will be invited to buy these fruits and vegetables, and enter into conversations about who this figure is and how this figure has impacted their lives and personal histories.

This is a site-specific interactive art installation by young and multi-talented artist Tan Zi Hao. who lives in Seri Kembangan, was schooled in the Seri Kembangan primary and secondary schools, yet all throughout his schooling years, knew nothing about the history of the new villages and the  role played by Sir Harold Briggs in their formation. He is curious if there are many others like himself. He hopes to engage Seri Kembangan residents in reconsidering this man who played a pivotal in changing the course of their lives.

Using vegetables and fruits to compose portraits heads is not new to art; it is a form made famous by 16th century Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo in his painted portraits. Zi Hao puts a twist to this by using real fruits and vegetables. In Deciphering Briggs, Zi Hao transports art, which has been largely commodified, into the interactive space of a wet market, turning the public space into a platform for exhibiting and viewing art, and attempts to use art as a tool to spark off interactions and conversations. 

The actions of buying and eating the perishable goods which composes Briggs face, places the doer in a position of 'interacting' with history, 'removing' or 'erasing' morsel by morsel the facial features of Brigg. By metaphorical and literal extension, whether consciously or unconsciously, they are buying and 'consuming' art,' as a daily mundane activity; as well as, perhaps 'consuming history' and 'consuming politics' - as their present lives are somehow framed by Briggs' actions in the past.

"Deciphering Briggs" thus alludes to the process of finding the answers to questions that we are still trying to decipher today: how did the Briggs Plan inadvertently affect the lives of countless new village residents; and who decides how new villages are evolving today?

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Time: Aug 30 & 31, from 8 am to 12 noon

Venue: Seri Kembangan new village market square, in vicinity of 1948 Artspace (please see attached location map)
 
Please contact Chu Chu Yuan from 1948 Artspace at 017 235 2745 or Tan Zi Hao 017 260 4739 for the exact location of this art event.

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About the artist:

Tan Zi Hao was born in 1989, and currently lives in Seri Kembangan. He is a visual artist who works on drawing, painting, video, and installation, and who is also active in theatre and music productions. Most of his artworks address issues on current social and political situations.

Entry Points is supported by The Annexe Central Market Grants for Grabs.