Artist statement

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Silent Voice – Inferno is an art piece I created for W.I.R. III./2022 under the theme Pause, curated by Herbert W.H. Hundrich. My work was hung from the ceiling in the middle of the village church Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Herzfeld at Karrenzin in Germany. 

 

The work, Silent Voice – Inferno, is a 28 meters long narrow canvas strip printed with a sound wave image. The image was converted from the voice of an Italian audiobook, La Divina Commedia (begun c. 1308, completed in 1320), written by Dante Alighieri (1265, Florence, Italy – 1321, Ravenna, Italy). I borrowed its first part, Inferno, as my art piece's theme.

 

Inferno reveals the eternal punishment of sins such as greed, self-deception, political double-dealing, violence, fraud and treachery. Indeed, wickedness happens not only in Dante's epic poem but daily in the past, present and future.

 

Furthermore, for any reason, talking about sinfulness could be taboo, depending on the diversity of culture, religion, tradition, political orientation, etc.

 

Hence, in Silent Voice – Inferno, I transformed the voice about unrighteousness into a soundless sound wave image. It represented the forbidden and restricted voices that vanished and could not be spoken or heard, even though they existed all along between us. 

 

It is time to take a pause and re-examine the damage caused by the political crisis and pandemics in our current situation. Though it is incredibly challenging and painful. 

 

Wai Kit Lam

Hong Kong

7.2022

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