Installation: A Room

A Room, an installation by Cambodian artist, 

Sopheap Pich, has been on view 

this summer at the main entrance of the 

Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Suspended from the ceiling, the circular

enclosure is made from strips of bamboo, 

aluminum, plastic, polyethylene 

braided line, and Teflon floss. 

Each bamboo strand, thirty-seven feet in length, 

was shaved and shaped by the artist's 

assistants after being cured in boiling water 

to remove any insects. As people moved in and out 

of the enclosure, a metallic ring could be heard

when one of the aluminum strands sang its protest.

It reminded me of the chimes many folks

had on their front porches, tinkling atonal choruses

in the summer breezes. 

The effect of A Room then, is not exactly from 

its physical presence, but what it may make 

the individual see in its surroundings. 

For me, it was the shadows made by the curtain 

as the sunlight filtered through the strands, 

and the occasional metallic ping that recalled 

the pleasant chimes of my childhood.