Behind the Scenes

Deinstalling Wong Hoy Cheong's Re: Looking 2002–2003

Observant visitors would have noticed that our historic Supreme Court Foyer has been reinstated to its original form recently. The Artwork & Exhibition Management team gives you a sneak peek at what happens during a large-scale artwork deinstallation.

By Johnny Chen

Posted on 03 June 2019

2 mins read

Deinstalling Wong Hoy Cheong's <i>Re: Looking 2002–2003</i> — Wong Hoy Cheong's *Re: Looking 2002–2003*
installation on display at the Supreme Court Foyer.

You might have noticed that the Gallery’s historic Supreme Court Foyer has been reinstated to its original form recently. The installation, Re: Looking 2002–2003 by Malaysian artist Wong Hoy Cheong, which was displayed here long-term since 2016, was deinstalled in March 2019.

The installation was first commissioned for the exhibition Artist and Empire: (En)countering Colonial Legacies (that ran from 6 October 2016 to 26 March 2017). Using salvaged architectural elements from the redevelopment of the colonial-era City Hall and Supreme Court buildings, Wong created a living room that invited visitors to enter and watch a fictitious television news programme he created in 2002. The programme imagined a scenario where Malaysia colonised Austria, whose impoverished citizens now have to seek work in the former. Reversing the roles of the coloniser and colonised, the installation as a whole incited a critical reexamination of colonialism, while leading the gaze on contemporary Malaysia.

Visitors on a guided tour of the installation.

The Gallery’s Artwork and Exhibition Management teams spent months planning the deinstallation to ensure the highest level of care would be accorded to the artwork and this historic public space. Many nights were spent preparing for this, and included doing things like laying floor protection, erecting temporary hoardings, and terminating electricity points.

During the deinstallation, objects were carefully removed in sequence: beginning with loose objects, followed by panels and roof tiles, and finally the floor tiles. Everything was visually documented to aid an inventory count and condition assessment. The objects were then transferred to our back-of-house area to be specially packed.

Setting up floor protection and working spaces for the deinstallation of this artwork. This was done outside the museum’s operational hours.

These components of the artwork were carefully transferred in stages to our back-of-house areas to be visually documented and specially packed.

Re: Looking 2002–2003 is now part of our National Collection and currently in storage at a climate-controlled and secured facility until the next opportunity for display. In the meantime, do visit the Supreme Court Foyer on your next visit to the Gallery and look for a new work, Every World by Donna Ong, which is part of Gallery Children’s Biennale 2019: Embracing Wonder that runs until 29 December 2019.