This exhibition explores human-tech relationships by featuring 11 light ‘creatures’ that were born from the collision of art and science. Photo: Handout
With a name like "The Mage Trials – Kokidi Kodiki Kod" lockdown camp, one would surely expect fantastical and wonderful things to emerge from this gathering.
Just how magical is this really? Why not head over to The Back Room in Kuala Lumpur to decide for yourself.
The young makers at this camp – their ages range from seven to 18 years old – have created 11 light creatures, which will be on display at The Trinket Shop from April 30 to May 2.
This exhibition is part of The Back Room’s "Takeover Programme".
Curated by the KL-based Kod(kod) Collective, this is a place where science, art and imagination collide, where the creatures yearn to make a connection with anything living and breathing – including, yes, humans beings.
The Kod(kod) collective, from left: Lim Nong Hua, Chan Hui Sim, Jowin Foo. Photo: Tan Thian Shaun
“This is a narrative-driven exhibition featuring creatures brought to life by the Kokidi Kodiki Kod participants. The space at The Back Room is filled with 11 magical spots with their own auras.
"At these spots, the creatures act as part of the distributed consciousness of the space. In other words, the space connects or communicates with us through these critters. We would like to invite the public to experience the space through the interactions with these creatures, which involve sensory awareness, ” reads a statement from the collective.
The Kod(kod) Collective comprises three members: Chan Hui Sim, Jowin Foo and Lim Nong Hua, all graduates from the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London.
One of the light creatures at The Trinket Shop, 'The Light Twins' by Siddharth Singam. Photo: Kod(kod)
These interdisciplinary designers have produced and exhibited works internationally, including at the Bartlett School of Architecture, London’s Ugly Duck Gallery, the Tate Britain Museum and Ars Electronica Festival in Austria.
So what are these light creatures at The Trinket Shop made of?
The participants were supplied with electronics and art-making material such as egg trays, ping pong balls and toilet paper rolls, prior to the camp which ran over two consecutive Sundays in March.
In the first session, they had conversations and lectures revolving around character design focusing on geons, movements, gestures, light and sound.
The week was then spent on exploration and creation, followed by the second component of the camp, where presentations and critique sessions were held.
After another week of optimising their creatures, their creations were collected for The Trinket Shop exhibition.
“With 2020 marking the victory of darkness as it has engulfed the hopes of mankind, the young makers in this camp act as the mages that work together to restore the light. Their mission was to cast spells (through new media methods) on their light creatures as their companions to help fight the darkness, ” the statement adds.
The collective hopes that such projects will create awareness around the possibilities of art-science collaboration through different mediums, of observing and thinking, and to provoke conversation around human-tech relationships.
The Trinket Shop is part of Project S.O.P., a series of events that explores our relationship with the newly-adopted S.O.P as a common ritual to counter the pandemic and the cultural dichotomies around it.
Project S.O.P. has two acts.
The first, funded by Cendana Malaysia, comprises the Kokidi Kodiki Kod camp, The Trinket Shop exhibition and an upcoming S.O.P installation to be presented at RexKL and Petaling Street.
The second, supported by the Krishen Jit Fund (Five Arts Centre), will be a mixed-media performance that seeks to imagine the possible reality where S.O.Ps is developed into a superstitious ritual or talisman which some regard as a sacred practice to ensure prosperity and protection. This ongoing production is developed with the KongsiKL production team.
The Trinket Shop is on at The Back Room, Zhongshan Building, in Kuala Lumpur from April 30 to May 2 (noon to 6pm). More info here.
