In Pien’s large-scale installations viewers must enter into the work in order to engage and explore its labyrinthine interior. The use of installation allows Pien to combine powerful elements of drawing, video and sometimes sound, to achieve evocative and engaging environments. Through his work Pien explores concepts of fears and vulnerabilities and proposes ways to confront these states of being. The Promise of Solitude contemplates the possibilities when a person embarks on a journey into unknown territory. Such journeys require abandoning the familiar in order to achieve new encounters and the possibility of transcendence.

The Promise of Solitude is an installation that consists of two intricately cut paper walls encircling an inner structure. The openings in the paper surface simultaneously expose the inner and outer structures and allow partial glimpses into and through the work. The viewer negotiates a way around this fragile environment. Within the gently moving passageways, lace-like cast shadows sway on the ground and create the illusion of a destabilized walking surface. Further on, a small, red chamber covered with brightly coloured and festive hangings awaits the viewer.

CentreA Vancouver (2005)
Koffler Arts Centre, Toronto, 2007

Related links

Akimbo