QUEK JIA QI
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​This Is a Safe Place to Un-Nail Your Privilege 

This Is a Safe Place to Un-Nail Your Privilege (2016)

Interactive Public Installation 
4000 hammered nails on handmade chairs chained with hammers


Installed in London SE14, United Kingdom

Exhibited for A-OK Mindroll Art Exhibition
#GoldsmithsDegreeShows
Goldsmiths', University of London
Private View on 17th June 2016
Public View: 15 - 20th June 2016 
""Did I remove a taboo? Now what? So what do I do?"

A Safe Place to Un-Nail Your Privilege (2016) is an interactive art installation in London SE14 that explores the potential of public spaces to be meaningful “brave” spaces for critical social engagement. Presenting 4000 hammered nails on handmade chairs, chained with hammers, strangers are encouraged to participate in the symbolic gesture of un-nailing. Exploring the nuanced complexities of privilege as a double-edged discourse, the installation aims to create a discursive space for people to reflect, practice gratitude, and consider how alternative perspectives might inform their awareness, inspiring action. Over the course of 5 days, many passersby participated and more than 3,500 nails were un-nailed as a form of mark-making, leaving behind thousands of empty holes.
 
By creating a playful social platform for strangers to connect, the interactive installation explores the potential of introspection and collective wisdom in our public spaces – how they can engage with key concerns in contemporary civic life – playing with the boundary between isolation and connectedness, and how the construction of “safe” spaces can mediate a person’s perception of community and privilege. As an aspiration of the piece to spark social justice dialogues through the mundane act of conversing, the piece also aims to provide a powerful bridge between people and art -  bringing people together to acknowledge their privileges, social responsibility and engage with it constructively.
 

  • ABOUT
  • WORK
    • RECENT WORKS
    • PUBLIC ART >
      • Can You Hear Me?
      • Kuti Kuti?
      • The Treehouse We Never Had
      • Waiting For
      • What do you not handle with care?
      • Shifting Concretes: Can We “Lepak” Better at Orchard Road?
      • 洗手 (Washing Hands)
    • INTERACTIVE INSTALLATIONS >
      • Stretch
      • Bind
      • Untitled (lost and maybe not always found)
      • Tree of Curiosities
      • Real-Doh Playroom
      • Real-Doh: Fun with Apologies
      • Real-Doh: Model Citizen
      • Real-Doh: Together, We Can Even This Out
      • 佳佳 Mama Shop
      • Fix-Aided
    • COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT >
      • Mapping with Sounds
      • A Picnic In Apart
      • Field Trip to Redhill
      • Kopi & Myths
      • Goodnight Stranger
      • Your Familiar Stranger
    • COLLABORATIONS >
      • Conversations in Singapore History' 18
      • Oceans*A*Part
      • Dumplings & Dialogue
      • And Everything In Between
      • The Little Things Book
    • PERFORMANCES >
      • Is this seat taken?
      • Ghost to Ourselves
      • All The Things I Had To Say To You (Without You)
      • Grieving in New York City
      • Love Clinic
  • PRESS
  • CONTACT