Borrowed phrases
2022
The series of small assemblages that can be found throughout the space is an extension of the artist’s 2021 publication A pocket dictionary of things misunderstood. In the publication, common objects and motifs are paired with definitions that associate them with unexpected characteristics. Printed alongside images that are meant to evoke rather than describe, Leong’s aim was to expand the possibilities of what these everyday objects can be. Based on the same list of characteristics from the publication, the artist then created new assemblages that attempt to fit the descriptions, combining objects she found with ceramic sculptures she made. The artist’s book is thus both an end in itself, and a means of generating new work, using multiple borrowed forms, functions lost or reimagined, their origins untraceable.
This work has been exhibited as part of Page Break, a curatorial and research residency by Berny Tan at the Singapore Art Museum, presented as part of Natasha, Singapore Biennale 2022.
Photo credits:
Photos by Marvin Tang. Courtesy of Berny Tan