NICHOLAS ONG

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 that the only meaningful relationship is between the artworks and the spaces they inhabit and animate. In understanding what a medium is in its most rudimentary form, Ong 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.