Sarah Lai Cheuk Wah

Back Images

Back Images is a series of six photographs by Sarah Lai Cheuk Wah that explore the semiotics of power and their intersection with representations of masculinity. The photographs feature what seem to be stock images of several policemen—their rugged uniforms, vehicles, and weapons drenching the photographs with signs of masculinity and power as the policemen carry on with their usual tasks. The series was part of a larger exhibition entitled In Stasis where Lai Cheuk Wahtransformed the booth of an art fair into what appeared to be a security area inside an airport. Inside the booth, two live security guards occupy the space, sitting, moving around, and taking turns to sporadically rearrange a couple of retractable belt stanchions. In addition to the photographs and the guards, Lai Cheuk Wah included a video of a security uniform shoe being polished as well as a painting of the shoe and black shoe polish. When seen together the works are playful depictions of ubiquitous forms of power, surveillance, and control, which take on an additional meaning in a post 9/11 context.