It is possible that chi too’s latest solo exhibition might get a few noise complaints from the neighbours. The Back Room gallery in Kuala Lumpur is a small space, but the contemporary artist is squeezing 10 tube men (and himself, because he wants to sell his new zine) into this room.
These tube men - also known as "sky dancers" - are commonly placed outside car dealerships to catch the attention of drivers.
They are fully operational, which means they will be wiggling around like tube men possessed, knocking into the walls, ceiling and visitors who want to spar with them. You can touch them but please don’t damage them - you are outnumbered in this fight (but really, it is because the tube men are rented for this show).
This exhibition is called It Will Be Noisy, Messy, And Very Touchy-Feely. If you need a reminder while you are there, this title is scrawled on the wall facing the gallery entrance.
“It does exactly what it says on the box, so to speak. It is noisy, messy and very touchy-feely. chi too, being an artist who is also an art worker (he is the project manager at Ilham Gallery), has a unique insight into the work going on behind-the-scenes of art exhibitions. He is exhausted with the pretentiousness and self-seriousness of some (not all!) artist statements and exhibition titles. So for this show, the artist statement is the exhibition title,” says Ellen Lee, The Back Room gallery assistant.
She notes that as a conceptual artist, chi too likes to set himself ‘instructions’ and limitations for making a work, much like feeding commands into a computer.
This is the starting point from which his previous shows, Like Someone In Love (2015), Sometimes When We Touch (2018) and 95 (2020) all emerged.
“For Noisy, Messy, And Very Touchy-Feely, the work has no instructions. It really is just ten red tube men bouncing around. I guess this makes it his most surreal and eccentric work to date, within the context of his own practice and also in the context of subverting the audience’s preconceptions of what art is or should be.
"Despite how serious some of his works seem, chi too is a person who is always looking for fun, and I suspect that his art practice is a form of resistance against some of the seriousness he encounters in his full-time job. Visitors to this exhibition are not expected or encouraged to do anything; they can walk through and take pictures with the tube men if they can bear the sound, but in general we hope that people will find it fun and funny,” she says.
On the most immediate, sensorial level, the vision here, adds Lee, is to overwhelm visitors - to stupefy them, confuse them, hopefully make them laugh.
This show was originally conceived as 100 tube men in an open field, an idea that has been on chi too's mind for four years.
"While he hasn't made this happen yet, the ridiculousness of putting skydancers in such a small gallery as ours appealed to him, so chi too adapted the idea to become 10 skydancers in The Back Room," says Lee.
At It Will Be Noisy, Messy, And Very Touchy-Feely, chi too will be launching his zine, Impossible Love Is The Most Impossible Kind Of Love. It is printed on 104g Takeo Mohawk Superfine paper and hand-bound by the artist, who describes the zine as “feelings on paper”.
It features poems and fragments that he has previously posted to his "Close Friends Instagram Stories", where he publishes random things, observations and life updates accompanied by pictures. The zine is available in a limited edition of 50 and is priced at RM50 each.
It Will Be Noisy, Messy, And Very Touchy-Feely is on at The Back Room, Zhongshan Building, in Kuala Lumpur until April 25. Opening hours: 12pm to 6pm (Wednesday to Sunday).
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