Oil on canvas.

Description

The painting series Break Time and Waiting for the Wind to Stop evokes a disquieting absence of sound as the body and its surroundings are rendered motionless. The close-up view of the subject matter helps isolate it from the larger surroundings, yet too close that a sense of depth becomes obsolete. Though being depicted symbolically as a black solid mass, the shadow cast on the field still reveals information about the proximity and density of its light source: the athlete stands right under an illuminating force at its peak. As the viscous shadows thicken and appear ever more defined the passage of time slows down and then stalls.

Male figures dominate throughout the exhibition space with their individualism being completely masked: from a person dressed entirely in a chroma-keyed bodysuit to athletes whose bodies either complement or merge with their sports fields – all pointing to the fluidity of their presence. One cannot help but wonder if these figures are their shadow doubles – the immortal component of the self, or the soul of the body – all along. Towards the last part of the exhibition awaits another shift in perspective, only this time it is lightly disorienting.

Description by curator Linh Lê excerpted from "Soon The Time Will Come" Exhibition Catalog, 2023, p.8.