(5/6)The composition which is applied to the end of a match stick is comprised of shellac, sulphur, barium chlorate, diatomaceous earth, glue and polyvinyl chloride. Not so sexy when you put it in those terms, is it? But, oh so sexy when viewed from the artistic perspective of architectural designer and multimedia artist Pei-San Ng.
The Chicago-based artist loves, “… making models out of sticks,” she says. Ng had limited resources, however, and that’s when her husband Nathan had the bright idea (no pun intended… well, maybe it was…) of using matches versus balsa. This was the inception of her “matches” series. She notes, “With every piece finished, came an urge to burn it.” That’s a sentiment I can relate to, because just looking at all those unstruck matchsticks makes my inner pyromaniac quiver.
Money to burn
7″ x 9.25″ x 4″ (18 x 23.5 x 10 cm)
This is the first match stick piece Pei-San Ng made, which was for the Chicago Art Department $200 exhibition. This was a collaboration between her and her husband Nathan. The idea came from her architecture model making days in school.
The piece was originally called Temptation. Eventually, Ng lit it and now it’s called Burned.
When I look at this piece, the words “Transitional Art” come to mind. Not to be confused with the idea of how art changes over time, but I mean it in the sense that the art, in order to be truly complete needs to “transition” to its final state. Therefore, if one were to purchase a piece which was never burned, its innermost message will have yet to have been expressed. That is of course, only my tenuous opinion.
The Passion of the Crush
Her work named Passion, the word “love” hand drawn and comprised of around 2,500 match sticks, took twenty-four hours to complete. ”Love on fire represents romance and passion or destruction and jealousy. It is raw and gritty,” she says.
Another of her pieces called Crush is made of shorter, pinkish tipped matchsticks. “Crushes are small, cute, beautiful and there come many in our lives,” Ng explains.
A farewell to a friend
Farewell to Mookie
After the loss of a close friend and former roommate, Pei-San Ng dedicated one of her matchstick works to his memory. As told by Ng in her own words:
“This pair of sneakers were [sic] made for my dear friend and roommate, Chris Hales, AKA DJ Tapedek, AKA Mookie. He passed away early Spring 2010.
In Chinese culture, we burn paper money so the spirit can take these notes with them to the afterlife. These papers are called joss paper. In contemporary culture, they have included paper cell phones, paper credit cards and paper boats.
I made a pair of sneakers for Chris to take with [him]. He loves his sneakers and he always have [sic] the perfect pair to go with his outfit. He was fashionable.
These sneakers were in his Tribute show entitled “Tapedek: The Afters Cool Show” at CAD on April 9th, 2010. One of the pair was burned at the end of the show with a gathering of his friends.”
About Pei-San Ng
Born in Taiwan and raised in Los Angeles, Pei-San Ng holds a BA in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from UCLA, an AA in Interior Design from Harrington College and a Masters of Architecture from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Currently, she is working freelance in architecture and web. Whenever she has time, she makes art out of matches. She fancies the unexpected and the flawed. See more of her work at http://peisanng.com/
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