Tiong Ang (1961)
The theme seeing was already present in the painted works of Tiong Ang in the late nineteen eighties. His 'veiled' paintings evoke a number of areas in which he has immersed himself. In his work, Ang (of Chinese background, born in Indonesia and raised in the Netherlands) plays with concepts such as seeing and being seen, reality and fiction, distance and engagement, recollection, projection and culture-specific meanings.
The artist has become intrigued by the way in which the media filters and distorts reality. He questions how we could have become so dependent on our complex technology. 'Information flows in unsightly forms have infiltrated our minds, and have taken over our decisions, with no regard for our youth, our memories,'* he says. Nonetheless, his work continually re-examines the question of how we keep our minds open. Since 1995, Ang has himself been working in film and video techniques to show how fact and fiction are manipulated. He regularly collaborates with other artists in video projects abroad. As voyeur, director, onlooker and participant, he delves into the human condition.
* J. Guldemond (red.), NL, B. Steevensz, ‘Tiong Ang’, Eindhoven 1998, p. 12
