What if Malaysia had colonised Austria? Re:Looking is an invitation to imagine an alternate version of reality where Austria is experiencing post-colonial predicaments as its citizens seek out better lives in Malaysia, its former colonial master. Located in a cosy living room, the work is rooted in deliberate misinformation. Is everything you see on television real? Wong uses the documentary form, which seemingly presents objective, factual accounts of history, to question the role of the mass media in conveying “truth.” Faced with solemn recollections by Austrians and Malaysians about a shared history that never existed, the line between history as we know it and this alternative construct begins to blur. For this new installation of Re:Looking, Wong used salvaged architectural fixtures from the colonial-era former Supreme Court and City Hall buildings.
