Dormitory, 2002

‘Dormitory’ is one of Tiong Ang’s (1961, the Netherlands) last large-scale paintings covered in colored gauze. The transparent veil is an essential part of the work, acting as a filter delaying the viewer’s perception of the depicted image and eliciting increased engagement with it. ‘Dormitory’ speaks to Ang’s on-going interest in the conditions of individuality in a collective society. This work is based upon an archival photograph of a Belgian boarding school dormitory: a collective environment of shared sleep, but personal dreams. Devoid of all life, Ang’s melancholic work allows room for us to ponder our own mechanisms for negotiating collective settings.