Kanthy Peng
Objects in Mirror
July 8 - August 12, 2023
With the use of archival inkjet prints, gelatin silver photographs, and projected video in her first solo exhibtion in California, Objects in Mirror, Kanthy Peng explored the consequences inherent in seaside living in three parts to examine our connections with both the past and distant places.
They Won’t Go featured life-size photographs of boulders cascading from the gallery’s ceiling, embodying the remnants of the abandoned "harborette" project at Coronado Island that remains concealed beneath the waves to this day. Harborette was initiated in an endeavor to attract tourists arriving at the famous Hotel Del Coronado by boat. Laborers were brought from San Francisco to work in the construction of several establishments, including the Hotel del Coronado, and remunerated at a rate of two dollars per day. The work’s title derives from a late 19th century article published in the "Coronado Evening Mercury" which discouraged the hiring of Chinese immigrant labor.
In a series of black and white photographs, three San Diego locals reenact a Japanese folk tale that revolves around the deadly Great Tsunami off the Sanriku coast in 1896. The tale follows a husband who, under the cover of darkness, encounters the ghosts of his deceased wife and her lover. As the three female protagonists partake in the reenactment of this story, they find themselves grappling with uncertainty, unsure of their roles within this love triangle.
In the center of the gallery hovered a projection resembling a car's side-view mirror which broadcasts a continuous livestream of the San Diego coastline. Similar webcams, often called "Surf Cams," are frequently used by surfers to plan their excursions. However, as depicted in the film Apocalypse Now, the sunrise and sunset, and the flow of ocean tides hold diverse meanings across cultures connected by the same daily event.
Kanthy Peng is an artist who specializes in lens-based mediums. Her current practice focuses on the uneven mobility caused by and/or embodied in colonialism, disasters, and globalized tourism.
Peng holds a BFA from the School of Art Institute of Chicago (2016) and an MFA from the Yale School of Art (2019). Her works have been exhibited and screened internationally, including, most recently, at Stuttgart Filmwinter in Stuttgart, Germany, the Power Station of Art in Shanghai, China, and the Times Art Museum in Chengdu, China. Peng has received fellowships and residencies from the Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta, Malta, the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, Netherlands, and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, United States.
