Su-Mei Tse The Ich-Manifestation

A new video/sound installation by artist Su-Mei Tse at The Renaissance Society.

In her new art work, "The Ich-Manifestation", videos of five tortoises are projected in slow motion over a series of five large screens and are accompanied by an audio track with heavy bass frequencies. At a scale several times larger than life, Tse's tortoises recall their Jurassic era cousins, the dinosaurs. As the giant, pondering turtles move across the walls to the booming sound of their footsteps, spectators experience awe and curiousity. Are the turtles sad, burdened, patient, self-reliant, or wise? Introspection, consciousness, problem solving, emotion, and memory are human traits which we project onto animals in myths, children’s literature, and in our interactions with our pets. Despite the use of video technology, The Ich Manifestation can take its place alongside a host of animal imagery dating back to the cave drawings of Lascaux. The medium may have changed but the question remains the same. Brother wind, sister turtle, what is on your mind?

Su-Mei Tse's installation for the Luxembourg Pavilion at the 2003 Venice Biennial won the Golden Lion Prize.

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Su-Mei Tse "The Ich-Manifestation"