Singapore media artist Ong Kian Peng once spent three months on a «very ulu» island in South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, taking in its sights and sounds as part of a sponsored art residency programme..
Singapore media artist Ong Kian Peng once spent three months on a «very ulu» island in South Korea’s Gyeonggi province, taking in its sights and sounds as part of a sponsored art residency programme.
He then created a series of videos representing Daebu island, one of which was sold for $2,000 — much to his surprise.
«It was a 30-minute meditative piece made using a photo of the sea and sounds I recorded. I’m surprised someone bought it, because it will never sell in Singapore’s art market, which is mostly about painting and sculptures,» he said.
Five years on, Mr Ong, 36, has returned to South Korea with his signature work — an installation which uses moving metal ball bearings to recreate the sound of ocean waves crashing against the shore.
He is among a group of Singapore media artists whose works are on display at the Total Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul as part of the Seoul/Singapore Open Media Art Festival.
Launched in Singapore in 2015 to mark 40 years of bilateral relations, the festival is being held in Seoul for the first time. It opened on Nov 16 and will run till the end of the month. The works of 13 media artists, including Singapore’s Ho Tzu Nyen and Teow Yue Han, and South Korea’s Protoroom and Mioon, are being featured.
