In the
gallery, the sculptures create imperfect angles as they play against the corners of the room; cut - out circles are
set against a large glass window; steel tubes seem to mirror pre-existing light
fittings.
The Malaysian - born, London - based artist uses the overly precious
setting of the
gallery space to pull objects — cooking utensils, kitchen
fittings, plastic tubs, sheets of jute, etc — out of their utilitarian context
in such a way as to force viewers to think about them as discrete objects, or things
in and of themselves, while
in the process challenging the assumptions we make about their functionality and attendant concerns such as, for example, the social status of the person who might own such an object, its role
in their lives and that relation
in respect to one's own style of living.
Providing the literal framework, young architects Carmody Groarke are
set to transform the Barbican's
galleries into a surreal house, with exhibits standing
in for wobbly
fittings and fixtures beginning with Duchamp's relief of a woman's breast, which doubles as a doorbell.