Within Walking Distance

2015

Within Walking Distant was a result of the artist’s encounter with an alleged war veteran in Saigon during her six-month residency in the former capital city of South Vietnam. She witnessed an incident that almost costed the man his life. With a wooden amputated leg, he lost balance to pedal his bike and almost hit by a truck. The episode occurred shortly after their brief language barrier conversation, which made her realized that, not every story is articulable.

In this work, the artist also projected her struggle with inner balance. Accompanied by objects collected during her stay, the installation visualized an alteration where the objects were stripped of their functionality and meanings. They were then placed in conflicts amongst each other, ranging from those who were alive and dead. With the bells, she interacts with the cicada sound recorded in Cu Chi Tunnels War Memorial Park. The work synchronized these conflicting rhythms and through the performance, she hopes to find balance that connects both the physical world and interior of self.