Aggregate, found rock and mineral fragments, resin, plaster, gold leaf, PE foam, dimensions variable, installation view at I_S_L_A_N_D_S.
Ben Loong
24 February – 31 March 2018
I_S_L_A_N_D_S is pleased to unveil a site-specific installation by Ben Loong. Aggregate presents specimens of eroded pavement and broken asphalt, worn and weathered by forces of nature. The humble fragments carry a layered mineral history, compacted by man into the structures that build our urban environment. Juxtaposing these solid segments are clusters of composite objects, crafted from industrial materials to replicate organic forms in geological phenomena.
Base materials with an original and specific function are appropriated and reassembled according to new processes and decisions here. Objects are not defined by their inherent properties; rather, their conceivable value is shaped by the chance and contingencies of placement and consumption.
Reimagining the site of exhibition as vitrines of history and ethnography, Aggregate considers the agency of display and how value systems are constructed through our representations of material culture. Setting up a confrontation between industry and ecology, viewers find themselves in a liminal space of reflection where natural patterns are measured against societal precepts.