At thirteen, Ono Kang dropped out of school to travel the world. On his return, he figured out a way to share the thoughts he could never write—by imagining them into being instead.
By Eeyan Chuah
Ono Kang is a one-of-a-kind installation artist hailing from Penang. Born and bred by the jetties of George Town, Kang’s childhood dream was to follow his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps to be a junk ship sailor and to sail with them around the region importing and trading charcoal. However, that ambition was never meant to be as the 90s saw the end of the sunset industry. Years later, perhaps as a reciprocation, or perhaps more as a gesture of honour to his family, Kang dug out the junk ship his father and grandfather had sailed on, which had been left to rot in the mud under the pier, and turned it into a sculptural installation.
Zheng Kui Jiap Ow Kui (One Breath after Another), an installation made of a rotten piece of wood taken from the keel of the junk ship his grandfather used to sail in. Image by Nikko Tan.
That is the kind of artist Kang is. Object collection has always been his form of commemoration. Needless to say, it is also a lifelong hobby; one of his favourite sports as a child was kite fighting and collecting all the fallen kites.
Kang is dyslexic but was never diagnosed while growing up as the condition was not known within the local community. As a result he didn’t receive the help he needed and dropped out of school at a young age. Restless in Penang, he started traveling at the tender age of 13, first to Singapore and then further and further away from home—but no matter where he goes, he still considers Penang his home.
He eventually returned to settle in Penang as a tattoo artist in his twenties. George Town, prior to being a Unesco Heritage site, was an abandoned and dilapidated town with many buildings demolished to build new high rises. Seeing the rapid changes that had taken over his hometown was understandably very saddening, and he started collecting old items in George Town—furniture, household items, gadgets, even factory machines. Anything that reminded him of his childhood and the old George Town that he grew up in.
As his collection grew, Kang began to build sculptures and installations out of them. In 2018, the year he turned 40, he held his first solo exhibition which was also his first exhibition at Hin Bus Depot. His installations can be viewed at Art & Garden by Fuan Wong and Art Lane.
Oui! Che Meh Gu (Oui! I am a blind cow). One of the installations in his first solo exhibition. Image by Nikko Tan
His most recent installation is a trio of sculptures made out of various discarded parts, sourced from engines (Merry-Go-Round), machines (Out of Breath), and various digital and mechanical devices (City…?). They tell the tale of the vicious cycle our modern societies live in; of how we pride ourselves in constantly breaking the boundaries by discovering new technology only to use it to create more rubbish and pollution.
From left to right: Merry-Go-Round, Out of Breath, and City…? at Art is Fair. Image by Ono Kang.
One thing Kang noticed during the pandemic was how much cleaner the air was in cities and how much less sound pollution there was. However, pretty much as soon as the lockdown was lifted, everything went back to the way it was before. But having known the possibility of a cleaner environment, the usual inconvenience now seems like a bigger annoyance. This series of sculptures is almost like a slapstick referral to the way we function as a society.
The sculptures are currently on display in Art is Fair at Farenheit88 Mall in KL until the 28th of February 2023.
One of Kang’s wishes was to be able to write. To be able to put thoughts into words. Instead, he figured out how to put his thoughts into things—through imagination. According to Kang, our imagination has the power to show that the way things are does not have to be finite; that things can be changed into whatever we will them to be.
Cover image: Ono Kang with one of his installations, Pek Bo Eh Hee Kui (The Breath of a Parent). Image courtesy of Ono Kang.
Eeyan Chuah is a writer based in Penang.