Art and Time - Mee-Ping Leung

Leung began producing the installation work, "Memorize the Future", in 1998. Leung has collected hair from more than 10,000 people through hair salons, the Internet, street garbage cans in the US and by placing advertisements (and is still collecting). The owners of these hair strands are from more than 100 countries and belong to different geographical regions, races, age groups and sexes. Leung mixed, reconstructed, kneaded and wove the hair into thousands of child-sized shoes. When I think of art and time, i relate Leung into this catagory as the concept of space, time and purpose comes into play. The question of the future as well as the process of remembering become part of the audiences's journey when observing the shoes. The direction of the shoes symbolise the future and the beginning to the end of life and hence time itslef. Leung also uses repetition as a time representatoin by constantly adding to the peice, the work seems to have no end and therefore becomes in existance with time and space. Apparently, to this day, there is over 3000 shoes, and is still growing.

"Memorize the future"

1998 - till now, human hair, 7000 square feet

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