In the exhibition Words and Memories Su-Mei Tse continues to explore the relationship between image and sound and expands this interest to include an investigation of literature and history. Born in Luxembourg to a Chinese violinist and an English pianist and trained as a classical cellist, Tse u... Read more
In the exhibition Words and Memories Su-Mei Tse continues to explore the relationship between image and sound and expands this interest to include an investigation of literature and history. Born in Luxembourg to a Chinese violinist and an English pianist and trained as a classical cellist, Tse uses music and sound not only as a theme but also as a means to express her ideas. Incorporating these multiple roots, Tse often addresses the relativity of our perception of the world in order to ask viewers to slow down and re-orient his or her position toward the seemingly obvious.
Tse works in a variety of media and often fuses sculpture, sound, video, and photography in a haiku-like simplicity. She frequently combines diverse references in such works as Floating Memories, an installation conceived for Tse’s recent solo-exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Here she juxtaposes the Gardner’s institutional history with a video projection triggered from her own childhood memory. As with Floating Memories’ examination into the slippages of memories, Tse also uses specific materials such as Neon—prized for its ability to be both material and immaterial—to obtain similar effects. This can be seen in such works as Swing, a slowly moving life-sized neon swing as well as Bird Cage, a neon cage on an Asian inspired pedestal with its door open and the bird set free. These works can be read as a reflection on the passing of time, absence, and longing.
Many Spoken Words, as well as Schmerzhafte Zwischentöne, respond to Tse’s fascination with calligraphy, literature and the power of words. Many Spoken Words is a life-size fountain through which black ink flows. In this work the written word literally dissolves back into its original state of liquid ink. The cyclical movement of the ink alludes to the way thoughts are conceived, recorded, and conceived again. Tse’s formal minimalism and economy of means allows for interpretations from the most private to the most universal.
