Chang Yoong Chia’s installation piece titled “Meat on the Chopping Block”《肉在砧板》paints the human anatomical form. It was only later when I realised it was the corporeal representation, onto circular and rectangular wooden blocks, crucifix in form and ready for sacrifice. The idea was originally conceived five years ago, a process of zoomorphism on the human body. Deconstructing flesh like a butcher, Chang segments the limbs as if readily prepared for further consumption, awaiting news for the next set of controls. Now, the fragility of the human body looms as a pandemic washes over the world. Wooden chopping blocks hanging, helpless, vulnerable. The body is open for inscription, for the viewers to navigate the geography of the corporeal self.
This year the installation has been reconstructed, curated and Installed in KongsiKL by the collective MingChang, made up of Teoh Ming Wah and Chang. KongsiKL is an old warehouse arts space located in Jalan Klang Lama in Kuala Lumpur. Run by a non-profit organisation, the team focuses on producing interdiscinplinary performances, exhibitions, competitions and workshops. For this exhibition,the venue also took up a producorial role and proposed a 48-hour live stream exhibition opening when further movement control orders were put in place.
MingChang allowed for a free space “open mic” session alongside the installation, where friends of KongsiKL and the curatorial collective came to perform. My eyes followed the characters occupying the mies-én-scene, creating instant environments, responsive and reactive. Bodies, distorted, mapping the expansive gudang. Some of these moments included: