Inspired by Robert Rauschenberg and Lawrence Weiner, who expressed their views on the meaning of art through their own works, Mawen Ong creates her own statement in her exhibit, titled, ifisaysoifyouthinkso. Held at West Gallery’s Gallery 1, it features eight 4 feet x 5 feet wall panels that are coated in beeswax and mixed with resin and pigment. Each panel, representing different art forms, is made of a single color, with words strung together as one word at the bottom, including “thisisapainting,” “thisisasculpture,” and “thisisaphotograph.” The panels coated in colored beeswax have a waxy finish, resembling flat surfaces of crayons. Just as Rauschenberg presented a telegram in which it read, “This is a portrait of Iris Clert if I say so,” and Weiner proclaiming in his 40-year retrospective exhibit, “This is art, if you think so,” Ong serves up intriguing declarations in her exhibit. To quote Roberta Smith of the New York Times in her review of Weiner’s work, “It also affirms that art ultimately triggers some kind of transcendence that can only be completed by the viewer.” Ong, who runs the artist space, Mo, concurs: “It took me over a year to refine and finalize the idea for this show. And it took over a month to make the entire 10 panels to complete the works. It will be up to viewers now what they will think [when they see the works].”
