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Fission, Fusion, & Facets
In 2015, “Star” was born in the quiet, industrial town of Butterworth, Penang. It then dissolved and disappeared into dormancy. In 2021, at the tail end of a pandemic, a phenomenon takes place in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. A starburst. Its new host, known as the Air Building, is a composite of raw concrete and shards of metal situated on the threshold between nature and city. Moulded by time, materials and energy, the new “Star” takes on a starburst form created by an accelerated fusion of various surrounding elements. As a result, intense trajectories of light are formed, extending beyond its host and onto the textured, cultural tapestries of the city. Throughout its time here, “Star” will learn, adapt and provide us with new facets of thinking as terrestrial, cosmic and human beings. Like all organic matters, the decay of “Star” is celebrated. Over time, its illumination is reduced and after 122 days, “Star” dissipates and lives on in hyperspace till it finds a new host.
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German astronomer Johannes Kepler once said the structure of the solar system was determined by the testing of the five Platonic Bodies – octahedron, icosahedron, dodecahedron, tetrahedron and cube. The nesting of these polyhedra ultimately suggests the orbital distances between planets. Materialised through the Platonic Bodies, the (truncated) icosahedron, a polyhedron with 32 facets, becomes the point of origin for the “Star” in the three-dimensional Euclidean space. Every star, both terrestrial and cosmic, has a core point that radiates geometry outward. The inward gravitational pressure of a star must equal the outward radiation and gas pressure to remain in equilibrium. Comprised of 111 individualistic “fragments” of steel, acrylic tubes and LED ropes, “Star” exists as a calculated “drawing in space.” Akin to Italian painter Caravaggio’s method of projective displacement of space using light, shadow and materiality, “Star” evokes multiple imagery and depth depending on the time of day and its illumination, both natural and artificial.
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The concept of space in today’s world is constantly shifting. We live in a space shaped by the juxtaposition of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity with cryptographer Claude Shannon’s ground-breaking findings in information communication “Star” exists as a wormhole for us to experience beyond the three-dimensional space our minds have only ever experienced. It disrupts the existing architecture of its host, creating new realms of circulation and perception. The “fragments” materialise intangible energies and patterns and sometimes override the logic of its host. “Star” is an analogous kaleidoscope to imagine these other dimensions, and to question the difference between reality and the perception of reality. Our eyes are our only lenses to what we see. What seems like high contrast cool white lights are sometimes disoriented by our lenses, causing purple fringing, a peculiar chromatic phenomenon that exists between dark and light parts of an image. The illusionary states of “Star” sometimes trickle into the big data space. “Star” in Butterworth existed as a paradox encapsulated in the warped world of the internet and big data. The entangled information repositions “Star” and all its matter in a point in hyperspace, borderless yet personal.
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All stars eventually run out of hydrogen fuels and die. Some even leave with a bang and create a supernova, triggering the birth of new stars. The cold steel and plastic materiality of “Star” seemingly traps and restrains the object within its host. The emancipation of “Star” as a monument or a public altar happens when its materials are freed from their aestheticised forms and are allowed to age with time. Sabireru. The art of decline. This material and immaterial liberation allows for generic materials (and luminaires) to become ephemeral. Alas, the becoming of “Star” as the metaphorical monument that will and should disappear, leaving behind only thoughts and reflections.