Reflections of Peter Tay's exhibition at the Venice Biennale /June 15, 2014 by peter tay

“I have always loved the idea of reflections. I love the way layers of vertically aligned glass creates duality between the exterior and interior spaces, which results in multiple reflections whose boundaries between them are blurred.” - Peter Tay

Reflection(s)

This installation by Peter Tay Studio entitled “Reflection(s)” explores the duality and interchangeability between architecture and interiors, as well as the relationship between reflection(s), the body and space.

The installation comprises a small enclosure encased with transparent tinted acrylic walls containing a indoor garden filled with silver river pebbles and 6 log stools within a room with the walls darkened. The furthest end of the room is finished in mirrored panels, and on the other, a simple bench. On each end of the space is an LCD screen. The space is dimly lit, as if illuminated by moonlight. The double but laterally inverted images from the LCD screens mirror each other, its sound echoing each other in space. Its reflections through the transparent panels produce an illusionary image, suspended in time and space within the box, with its filmic motion aligned and played out in perfect synchronicity.

Within the installation space, textural and experiential qualities are intensified, inviting the visitor to leave the “known” visual world behind as he/she takes a step into a space that is at once minimal and familiar, and yet is curious and extraordinary. The movement around the outer edges of the room to reach the pebble garden is a reflective, transitory space. The pebble garden is a space of reflection and suspension, and a space of meditation and introspection. One not only becomes aware and conscious of one’s existence, but also of one’s reflections and projections through the transparent surfaces.

This installation is both an exploration and an interrogation. The exploration of the multiple meanings and depths of the phenomenon of reflection(s) and the body, and at the same time, it is an interrogation of the boundaries and relationships between architecture and interior design, the interchangeability between exterior and interior spaces, as well as the perceptions of our existence in time and space.

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A Reading of Reflection(s)

/of Space

/of Event

/of Thought

/of Materiality

/of Function

/of Time

/of Context

/of Individuality

/of Sound

/of Perception