KOTA KINABALU: Sabahan artist/filmmaker Chris Chong will be the first Malaysian artist invited to present his work, Block B, at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC from April 19 to Aug 1, 2010.
Chris Chong
“It’s an honour to be invited to show my work at such a prestigious institution like the Smithsonian,” he said.
Last year, Chong became the first feature film director in 14 years to show his internationally award-winning debut film, karaoke, at the Cannes Film Festival.
“I find doing both media art and film to be complimentary. One uses a gallery and the other uses a cinema. And when they cross over, it’s interesting and exciting,” he said.
Block B is a single channel projection of a building in Brickfields set to Japanese sound artist Yasuhiro Morinaga’s soundscape, art directed by fellow Sabahan and artist Yee I-Lann, and written by activist Toni Kasim. The work creates a building as a living breathing painting.
“I had met the curator of the museum when they saw my work during a festival last year, so it really came as a surprise. A good surprise,” said Chong.
The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden is a leading voice for contemporary art and culture and provides a national platform for the art and artists of our time.
It seeks to share the transformative power of modern and contemporary art with audiences at all levels of awareness and understanding by creating meaningful, personal experiences in which art, artists, audiences and ideas converge.
It aims to enhance public understanding and appreciation of contemporary art through acquisition, exhibitions, education and public programs, conservation, and research.
Block B was created with the support of the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur.