A
tall ornate black booth without any apparent entry points is
positioned at the centre of the gallery space. Its dimensions vaguely
resemble a photo booth or a church confessional. Upon closer
examination, a small circular opening just below half way up its side
is revealed, luring the viewer to kneel and take a peek at what's
hidden inside.
Once
the viewer succumbs to temptation and peeks into the darkness, the
booth reveals a peculiar gold like shimmer flickering and glittering
in the dark, which gradually becomes recognisable as sunlight
emerging from behind leaves of a tree swaying in the wind, a tree
that grows just outside the gallery.
It is through the elaborate concealment which invites fantasies of secrets, treasures or even peep shows that the image of the sunlit tree is transformed into an object of reverence and desire. It becomes a poignant metaphor for any object of desire but remains ultimately inaccessible as a mere reflection of a reflection.
(excerpt from proposal, Mariana Jandova, 2012)