Growth, 2023

Dimensions variable

UV print on acrylic sheet, sand, aggregate stone, concrete

Growth is an investigation into land use changes that come with urbanisation. The installation features photographs of Melaleuca cajuputi (gelam in Malay or samed in Thai) saplings that originate from a felled forest near the artist’s childhood home in Thailand. 

While the newly cleared wetland awaited development, the saplings proliferated in the availability of sunlight – only to later be buried or cut down. Here the photographs seem to grow out of piles of construction materials—sand, concrete, and aggregate rocks. The inherent absurdity within Growth is intended to invite contemplation. Placing the images of saplings within materials that are poor grounds for nurturing life challenges viewers to question how we choose to support life on earth.

Referencing Robert Smithson's notions of site non-site, Growth directs attention beyond the gallery, emphasizing external locales undergoing transformation.