Unity
Introduction
This project revolves around the idea of a monument as an object that holds and preserves a collective memory. It challenges the conventional belief that a monument has to be built by the state. UNITY brainstorms ways that a monument could be initiated by creative players as a remembrance of what people experience together. As a phenomenon that affects all countries, the pandemic has had a worldwide impact on our society as a whole. Certainly, we have witnessed the constant flux of cases and recognised the challenges faced by our healthcare and economic systems. However, through this project, the team behind UNITY were particularly
interested in how Covid-19 has underlined the conditions of being isolated, seperated, and segregated from one another. As we are asked to stay in our own shelters and countries close their borders, what might be an innovative way to stay connected, create and showcase? What does it mean to be part of a creative community and work together during these strange times? Moreover, how does the power of the internet and the digital contribute to it?
Designers, artists and musicians participating in UNITY were invited to take a closer look within and around themselves rather than to what is reported in the news. Through their works, they reveal their personal feelings, comments, and visions in response to the transformation that they face on a personal and social level. As a result is a selection of 20 audiovisual and silent videos from creatives across the world including Kuala Lumpur, Shah Alam, Penang, Seremban, Jakarta, Bali, Casablanca, London, Berlin, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris and Tokyo. Each piece is a result of an individual or collaborated effort, made to be projected onto the flipped pyramidal structure of UNITY. Played one after another, these video works result a 20-minute installation for the audience to view from home. Due to restrictions of the lockdown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the monument piece was realised, the experience is available online.
UNITY is presented by Filamen and supported by CENDANA Malaysia, under the foundation’s Visual Arts Showcase Funding Program. It was made in collaboration with EPSON Malaysia, NWCN, and Kongsi KL.
Unity
Introduction
This project revolves around the idea of a monument as an object that holds and preserves a collective memory. It challenges the conventional belief that a monument has to be built by the state. UNITY brainstorms ways that a monument could be initiated by creative players as a remembrance of what people experience together. As a phenomenon that affects all countries, the pandemic has had a worldwide impact on our society as a whole. Certainly, we have witnessed the constant flux of cases and recognised the challenges faced by our healthcare and economic systems. However, through this project, the team behind UNITY were particularly interested in how Covid-19 has underlined the conditions of being isolated, seperated, and segregated from one another. As we are asked to stay in our own shelters and countries close their borders, what might be an innovative way to stay connected, create and showcase? What does it mean to be part of a creative community and work together during these strange times? Moreover, how does the power of the internet and the digital contribute to it?
UNITY is presented by Filamen and supported by CENDANA Malaysia, under the foundation’s Visual Arts Showcase Funding Program. It was made in collaboration with EPSON Malaysia, NWCN, and Kongsi KL.
