Holding On [2025]

Perhaps the most experimental work in the exhibition (Long Transient Feeling), Holding On consists of twisted and bent yellow ‘handrails’ made from foam and PVC tubing. From a few railings, grey transit handles hang. A TV sits vertically upright on the floor. Similar to the chair constructs in Sit Tight, the handrails seem somewhere in between function and fiction – their twisted forms seem impractical for use.

On the TV, videos play with the background image bearing a photograph taken of the floor and wall space behind the TV – creating a sort of illusion similar to augmented reality. Occasionally what appears to be a transit handle falls to the ground. Each time the handle falls however, the material nature of the ‘handle’ changes. Sometimes revealing the handle to be made of cake, cardboard, yarn and other materials.

The seemingly playful videos are created using practical effects and editing. The unexpected reveal of each instance of a handle falling finds relevance to our daily encounters of misinformation and AI generated content in our post-truth era. There is also the visual metaphor of handles and rails – functionally meant as safety and support structures – bringing into question what we hold onto in this collective trip to the unknown.