[ISEA2002] Artist Statement: Margaret Tan — Virtual Bodies in Reality

Artist Statement

In the fast-pace immaterial realm of cyberspace, one often neither have the time to reflect upon the impact of new technologies on power relations, nor the space to consider the ethical implications of our actions on virtual objects (notions of responsibility). This work seeks to create an interactive context within which one’s ethical stance towards violence becomes problematized by the presentation of seemingly ‘virtual bodies’ of ‘real people’.

  • Margaret Tan is a practicing artist who situates her practice within a feminist context. She works with a wide range of media from objects, performance and installation to new media. She was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award (RMIT) in her Bachelor of Fine Arts programme and became one of the first Artist-in-Residence with the Cyberarts Initiative, University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore. She is currently tutoring with the School of Computing, National University of Singapore and lecturing with the Department of Art Theory and Art History in LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, USA.