John Clang is currently performing his participatory artwork Reading by an Artist in the Cambell Rotunda at the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, South Carolina. This work, based on traditional Chinese studies of the cosmos, results in a metaphysical portrait captured in long exposure — without the usual photographic apparatus of a camera and the end-product of a photograph. In each session, a “likeness” of the sitter,  reminiscent of a print being developed in the darkroom, gradually comes into sharper focus as one obtains clarity about the intrinsic qualities in one’s life and the constellation of choices that shape them. Participants will interact with the Singapore-based artist virtually from the Gibbes Campbell Rotunda on Wednesdays through Saturdays, from 11am to 3pm.

Reading by an Artist will be accompanied by three other works that extend Clang’s practice in generous ways: Table of Inquiry; Nine Chairs; and The Testimonial Series. Table of Inquiry invites viewers to submit single questions to the artist, and his answers will be written on a canvas scroll in the Gibbes Rotunda. To submit your question, click HERE.

To watch Clang’s public talk at the Gibbes Museum of Art, moderated by the museum’s President and CEO, Alex Rich, and FSA’s curator, Bindu Gude, click on the yellow video box below.

To read more about the works in the exhibition, click on the link at the bottom of the page.