| Heman Chong is an artist, curator and writer. He received his M.A in Communication Art & Design from The Royal College of Art, London in 2002. His art practice involves an investigation into the philosophies, reasons and methods of individuals and communities imagining the future. Charged with a conceptual drive, this research is then adapted into objects, images, installations, situations or texts. In 2006, he produced a writing workshop with Leif Magne Tangen at Project Arts Center in Dublin where they co-authored "PHILIP", a science fiction novel, with Mark Aerial Waller, Cosmin Costinas, Rosemary Heather, Francis McKee, David Reinfurt and Steve Rushton. The artist has developed solo exhibitions at Rossi & Rossi (London), SOTA Gallery (Singapore), NUS Museum (Singapore), Kunstverein Milano (Milan), Motive Gallery (Amsterdam), Hermes Third Floor (Singapore), Vitamin Creative Space (Guangzhou), Art In General (New York), Project Arts Centre (Dublin), Ellen de Bruijne Projects (Amsterdam), The Substation (Singapore), Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien (Berlin), Sparwasser HQ (Berlin).
His work has also been shown extensively in group exhibitions including San Francisco Asian Art Museum, Kumho Museum of Art, Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Kroeller-Muller Museum, Stedelijk Museum Bureau, Nam June Paik Art Center, Gertrude Contemporary, Arnolfini, Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, Hamburger Bahnhof, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Kadist Art Foundation, Daejeon Museum of Art. He has participated in numerous international biennales including Asia Pacific Triennale 7 (2012), Performa 11 (2011), Momentum 6 (2011), Manifesta 8 (2010), 2nd Singapore Biennale (2008), SCAPE Christchurch Biennale (2006), Busan Biennale (2004), 10th India Triennale( 2000) and represented Singapore in the 50th Venice Biennale (2003). His work has been featured prominently in A Prior, ArtAsiaPacific, Artforum International, ArtInfo, Art-iT, Art Lies, Frieze, LEAP, SITE and Visionaire. Heman Chong is represented by Motive Gallery (Amsterdam), Rossi & Rossi (London), STPI (Singapore), Vitamin Creative Space (Beijing/Guangzhou) and Wilkinson (London).
Artist Statement:
At the core of this work lies the fact that we're subjected to representations, that are imposed on our identities and the identities of the places we live in. And that we don't really have much of a say in these representations therefore it is about how I feel that this shouldn't be the case. This is one situation where artists can attempt a look at the idea of representation, and the representation of 'us' in Asia where we need to rethink our position in relation to the ideas of governance at large, and how these politics constantly frame us and how we can un-frame them. So what I've made is not so much based on resistance or having something being contrarian... but rather something that will allow perspective on how absurd these tag lines are and how far they have drifted from any sense of place.
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