Adrian Wong, 'Bless All Ye Who Enter Here', 2007
Pine, bamboo, epoxy, latex, incense, tea, Taoist exorcists
Adrian Wong, 'Bless All Ye Who Enter Here', 2007
Pine, bamboo, epoxy, latex, incense, tea, Taoist exorcists
Adrian Wong, 'Fountain: Organic Material Breaks Down at 100º Celsius', 2007
Found dishes & flatware, inflatable pool, oolong tea, pump
Adrian Wong (b. 1980) works with bamboo, incense and Taoist exorcists to create a cleansing ritual as part of a performance called Bless Ye All Who Enter Here (2007). After having experienced a wave of misfortunes, in which nearly all his possessions got stolen and his health badly damaged, the artist, who originally trained as a research psychologist, decided that a cleansing ritual was needed to get back in tune with the positive powers of the universe.
Part of this performance was a tea ceremony. Tea, whether green or black, is a crucial facet of human culture, which Britain would plainly feel naked without. In China and Japan, tea occupies a ritual and mystic position; it is used by Geishas in intricate ceremonies of seduction and is cooked for hours by the Chinese for its healing qualities.
Wong's earlier performance and sculptural installation A Fear This Is (2007) explored the workings of tea in a different context. With this work, Wong addressed the human emotion of experiencing fear and tried to deconstruct phobias. Part of the artwork is a tea fountain, Fountain: Organic Matter Breaks Down at 100 º Celsius (2007). The fountain has both a practical and a ritual function, symbolising the relationship between physical cleanliness and moral purity. It shows the human need, which is also pivotal in most religions, to be both morally and physically clean.
The use of tea in this fountain, which is compiled from an inflatable pool and plates and cups from street restaurants, is slightly peculiar but intriguing all the same. Wong uses Oolong tea, which has exceptional cleansing qualities, to suit the process of rinsing the body outside and within. The combination of the healing herbal liquid and the mishmash of random objects from Hong Kong's street life addresses anxieties over hygiene and public health.
Wong's work, which is both culturally critical and religiously aware, illustrates the artist's strong connection to contemporary city life, and his interest in using ancient rituals to accentuate the dark corners and eccentricities of metropolitan existence.
To view his profile page on Saatchi Online click here, and visit the artist's own website, embassyprojects.org.
Georgia Haagsma
Georgia Haagsma studied at the University of Amsterdam, the Gerrit Rietveld Academy and moved to London to finish her BA in Cultural Studies at University College London, where she graduated with honours in Art, Science and Practice. She worked in the Press Department at the Saatchi Gallery from February to June 2009 and is now a Gallery Assistant at a contemporary art gallery in London as well as a freelance art critic.
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