2009

Chinese Arts Centre

Chinese Arts Centre is delighted to present Memento, a newly commissioned installation by Ed Pien based in Canada.

The work is a contemplation of the human condition: how we act and react to the inescapable forces that shape us.  Memento has been developed out of research into the plight of illegal immigrants who often take great risks in the hope of living a more significant and meaningful life.  Examples include ‘snakes’ or ‘ghosts’, those Chinese who remain hidden in society (the tragedy that beset the cockle pickers), the Faujis, from India as well as the “burnt ones” young Moroccans, some, attempting to cross the Straight of Gibraltar, perish" along the way.

Memento is a walk-through installation and consists of ropes, cut silhouettes, sound and video.  The hand tied configuration alludes to fishing nets, traps, security fences and engulfing waves.  The network of patterns is also reminiscent of the human circulatory system, passageways and maps. The video shown within the structure depicts the artist negotiating the might of churning waves emphasizing human beings’ vulnerability as well as celebrating the strengths to confront and overcome difficulty.

Memento is a continuation of Pien's ongoing interest in the otherworldly, invisibility, disappearance, and journeys. It poignantly reflects on the displaced, forgotten and unseen yet remains poetically open-ended, embracing multiple interpretations.

Ed Pien was born in Taiwan and moved to Canada aged 11.  He received his Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Western Ontario and Master of Fine Art from York University.  Pien has exhibited internationally including the Drawing Centre, New York; La Biennale de Montreal; Centro Nacional de las Artes, Mexico City; plAAy, Blackburn and The Goethe Institute, Berlin.

Special thanks goes to the The Chinese Arts Centre, the Toronto Arts Council,  the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts for their support in realizing this work.

Chinese Arts Centre is grateful for support from Arts Council of England, North West and AGMA.