WUN TING WENDY TAI
Wash my hands of, 2021.
Site-specific interactive installation above a sink.
47.5 x 38 x 14cm shelf with found objects from late father’s home, tiger balm, broken tooth, photograph and electronic components; 14cm diameter circular mirror with photograph; soap; towel.
Installation dimensions variable.
Review by Ophelia Lai in Art Asia Pacific:
“Wendy Tai’s Wash my hands of (2021) recreated a bathroom sink in a corner of the exhibition space, complete with an old-fashioned cabinet and haphazard personal items. Tucked into the mirror’s edge is a black-and-white photo of Tai’s father, who passed away recently from illness, while a smaller mirror with a wallet-size portrait of the artist’s late mother is installed at the other end of the room. When the cabinet is opened, the tinny sounds of “Happy Birthday” emanate from a miniature speaker, referencing the rule to wash hands for as long as it takes to sing the tune twice. Tai poignantly balances intimately evocative stimuli—the song, the smell of Tiger Balm—with darker allusions to disease and decay, like orange antiseptic soap and broken teeth, gesturing simultaneously to her private grief and a universal fear of the ravages of time.”
