May 30 – June 3, 2018
Flexspace A, CICA Museum
A Celebration: The Origin
Project Statement:
A Celebration: The Origin of Life, celebrates scientific achievements in studying human evolution, while satirically binging attention to the intricacies associated to the cultural interpretation of a complex subject such as Evolution. Several of the composites featured in the project are created with source images from San Diego Zoo’s Chimpanzee shows in the 70’s. Other photographs in the projects are re-staged scenarios from primate cognitive study experiments. Putting images from these varied sources into a new context, alongside text and imagery supported by real science, blur the lines between the domains of scientific studies and circus training, while referencing the process of how knowledge and realities are being constructed based upon our information culture that rely largely upon popular media, interpretation and imagination.
Artist Statement
As an artist and researcher, Tristan Cai works with archives and information, translating them into inter-disciplinary installations. Drawn to the ambiguities and mysteries surrounding the subjects of death, creation and religion, he is interested in the cultural production of knowledge and the realities humanity construct in these areas that are filled with uncertainties. Drawing inspiration from academic research and first-hand interaction with individuals from neuro-theologians to cult victims, Cai creates oblique narratives that references the challenging intersections of science and religion and the construct of human normalcy, while opening up the discourse on how the authenticity and propagation of visual information may influence our belief systems.
Tristan Cai received his BFA{hon) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and his MFA from San Francisco Art Institute, USA. In recognition of his works, he has been awarded the San Francisco Art Institute MFA Fellowship Award, the Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Award, as well as the Professional Development Grant and Arts Bursary Award from the National Arts Council. In 2012, he was nominated for the Icon De Martell Cordon Bleu, the most distinguished photography prize in Singapore and in 2013 he was nominated to exhibit at Noorderlicht Photography Festival’s 20|20 show, as one of 20 photographers to look out for internationally. As an actively exhibiting artist internationally, he has presented his works at Phoenix Art Museum, USA, Arles Voies Off, France, the National Museum of Singapore, Kumho Museum of Art, Seoul, GoEun Museum of Photography, Korea, RS Project, Berlin, and Shanghai World Exposition, China amongst others. Cai is also a passionate educator and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Photography at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, USA.
