By CHIN JIAN WEI

In her first-ever solo exhibition, Dog Days, Ping depicts the black dog as a pet, man’s best friend, while also simultaneously exploring the thorny subject of depression through the use of the black dog as a metaphor for the aforementioned mental condition. Ping wants to draw a connection between these two identities while opening up a discussion about strangeness. She says, “When we label something as being strange, what do we mean by that?”

The sculptures of the dogs are populated throughout the gallery space, some looking into a mirror, some chasing their own tails, and some with their heads inside buckets. The selection is curated by Studio Sayang and supported by HARTA and seeks to destigmatise mental health issues by using the black dog to illustrate the perspectives and woes of those struggling with depression.

Upon entering the gallery at HARTA Space, one is immediately confronted by a 3-panel painting depicting various body parts of a black dog: its ears, fangs, and paws. They are arranged in a way that suggests the gestalt image of the animal, obscured by the negative space between the paintings. This is Yellow Fang, Crescent Claw. At first glance, the piece suggests animal aggression and danger, especially because of the bared teeth and the darkness in the background of the paintings. However, as Ping explains, “The photo I chose as a reference for this painting is actually of a dog yawning. Many people fear things that are sharp, or shrouded in darkness. This is what makes the metaphor of the black dog interesting for me. Depression is not a black dog, but when we think of it as such, it can perhaps make it a bit more approachable.” Things are often not as they seem, and Ping seeks to challenge the preconceived notions of the viewer.

We move on to discuss some of the other works, and Ping stops at Concerned First Party, the sculpture of the dog looking into a mirror. “The idea for this work was that I wanted to create a scene where the dog’s view of the world is limited and isolated from the rest of the space,” Ping says. “It’s looking through the mirror to view the world. But the main point is it’s still trying to make a connection. I feel that sometimes there is a misconception that the person who is depressed is not trying enough or at all to seek help. Help-seeking isn’t something that’s easy, especially when there’s no visible open wound that requires immediate surgery.”

Next up is Holding Patterns, a sculpture of three dogs chasing each other in a circle, which according to Ping is an aviation term referring to the circular pattern an aircraft makes in the air while waiting for permission to land. “The idea is really about circles,” Ping says. “You can think of a circle as coming full circle, new beginnings. It could also represent this idea of stagnation, of hopelessly circling around the same ideas again and again without knowing how to deviate from it. Also, the perspective from inside the circle is very different from our perspective as viewers; we can see the entire circle.

“Most of Dogs Days is about depression, but I don’t intend for the works themselves to be depressing. I hope that the art can help us step beyond our own perspectives. While I was making them, I was also trying to glean new perspectives and reframe my own experiences.”

Perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibition is the paired works of Needs Must and Dog:Walk. The former is a collection of paintings of the black dog, while the latter is a photograph compilation of said paintings placed in locations significant to the artist and her experience of depression. Ping says, “There can be this perception that an individual has lost months or years of their life, that the period that they were unwell was a period where they didn’t even exist, or didn’t deserve to exist. Through this work, I wanted to make a response to that. Even those moments that were embarrassing or unpalatable, they are still worth recognising and reclaiming.” Looking at Needs Must from a distance, one can see the bodies of the dogs spell out the word “mine”.

“I returned to places where I’ve encountered black dogs in real life, whether literal or metaphorical,” Ping says, talking about the places shown in Dog:Walk. “Unfortunately, there are still some people who don’t believe that depression exists, and with Dog:Walk I went for a walk outside, and they are there. I met them, I remember meeting them.”

The works discussed here are but a fraction of the thought-provoking artworks Ping has created, and this writer highly encourages anyone interested to go and see the collection for themselves this weekend at HARTA Space.

Dog Days will be at HARTA Space until 20 August 2024. Their opening hours are Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am to 5pm. Follow Ping and HARTA Space‘s Instagram pages to keep up with the latest details!

To read more BASKL, click on the links below: