 |
| Singing Chickens / Beeswax , Brummtopf, woodenbox /25x17x12cm each/2000 |
 |
| Bed Cover for couples and singles / Cotten / about 45x35x5 cm each ,packed /2001 |
“ sim cha chi’s sculpture “ one
with myself “ confronts the viewer in the most direct way with her feelings.
One sees a toillet in gesso. It is a throne inside a plexiglas box. On one side
of this restrictive space is a drawing on the transparent wall. The viewer is a
voyeur to a private experience. The claustrophobic effect is mitigated by a door at one end. As the
water closet is made out of transparent material, even idea of absolute privacy
is dubious. Could it be that the artist wants to communicate the private aspect
by making drawing on the wall? - fluid buttermilk has been poured on the
wall-One can recognise the white texture of this nourishing product, but what
does its presence signify ? Is there a connection with the mother-figure ? To
investigate this more deeply, Let us move on to her next work “ serenade for
chickens”.
The chickens are ready to be grilled. They are presented on wooden
pedestrals. One is tempted to ask if they might be survival-kits for human
kind. Not many are concerned about the plight of the birds themselves ,being
produced only to be devoured.In the north-east Asian world where sim cha comes from-even as recently as the times when
she was born-a new born girl was insignificant in comparison to a baby boy. A
female infant was a disposable commodity, to be exchanged for wealth, to be
married,have children and to serve her husband and family. Here, her chickens
are not edible either. She has converted them into music boxes. The tunes we
hear are “ Lullaby”. Will tommorow promise the chickens a better future ?
Returning to first piece, One can only guess how much the loss of one’s
own decisions on the one hand and building a private future on the other hand
has caused inner mental turmoil for so many woman. After all , Isn’t the Buttermilk drawing in this piece “ One with
myself” a cry for help?
The third object in this intallation is the work with bedclothes. Each
piece of them is packed in colored plastic bags. A closer inspection reveals that textiles are
purely white,as clean as the gesso toilet. They reflect the light of their
carefully chosen surroundings. Is this a
metaphor for real existence ? Are we not all equal but due to “our colour“ cast
in a different light by society ? Sim cha chi knows that the world only changes
when she does. “
Erno Vroonen
From the text to installation in Praterinsel
march 2002
