Climate change is a persistent global issue, yet it is disconnected from the urban reality that we live in. Enclosed in concrete and steel structures, the threat of a potential sea level rise remains an alien concept to those within, despite compelling evidence by the IPCC that the phenomenon is well underway.
Extending on previous work that dealt with the effects of sea level rise, Ong Kian Peng presents an alternative perspective by focusing on its distant source: the melting ice sheets and glaciers of Greenland and Antarctica. Too Far, Too Near is a two-part installation with audio-kinetic sculptures accompanying a video filmed on location in Greenland.
Taking viewers on an immersive, perceptual journey to experience this haunting landscape, the work underscores the lesser-registered fact that while a cause of climate change, these glacial monuments are also victims. Offering an intimate way to observe and reflect on the changes taking place at the edge of the earth, Ong reminds us that man and nature are linked, and these changes will ultimately impact us all.
Too Far, Too Near is part of the President's Young Talents 2015, and Ong is the Grand Prize Winner of President's Young Talents 2015.
