KowTow, 2025

​

34 in x 62 in x 26 in

​

Foam, plaster, steel, Agarwood (The Result of a Wound)

​

Kowtow is a multimedia installation. Agar wood powder is a product of scarring, akin to a safeguard against misfortune. The act of kowtowing is customarily a gesture of respect, reverence, and gratitude towards the divine. In my family, it is viewed as an ordinary, mundane, yet wholesome family ritual. However, its inherent meaning has been twisted after moving abroad, where it is only done in desperation to beseech the divine, in extreme requests. The cage embodies the concept of cultural assimilation, wherein the individual fears escape from it for fear of the consequences of disobeying the status quo. To be assimilated is to survive.