Radio Silence marks a fearless departure in the artist’s embodied
approach to paint and the painted as he queries into the meta-
modern.
Radio Silence augments the sensations evoked by the absence of
communication, exploring the intricacies of this enigmatic concept: the
essence of isolation, uncertainty and reflection inherent in its
namesake. Ong shares, “Where the void between change is a canvas,
silence in a context constantly buzzing with noise, in the absence of
communication, exists an opportunity for profound introspection and
a deeper understanding of experiences perceived”.
These works take up the position of neither painting nor sculpture, but
oscillate between the two. The gestalt of objecthood in Ong’s works
necessitates the meaningful relationship between the observer and
the observed. In understanding what a medium is in its most
rudimentary form, he pares back by layering modest canvases
against geometrically recomposed wooden bars that are pigmented
with LED, as seen in flatline (the space between heartbeats) and a
place for rest.
The exhibition traps paradoxical metaphors within itself; unity and
plurality, totality and fragmentation, purity and ambiguity. Driven by
the challenges and shifts of a practice grounded in formalistic
painting, Radio Silence is Ong’s odyssey of unspoken narratives,
unanswered questions and the static that lies within the silence that
echoes.
