Plage Concrete

The tension of the man-made world and the natural world once again come into dialogue in Ping Chong's Plage Concrete or Concrete Beach. However, in Plage Concrete the man-made world overwhelms the natural one. A site specific work created for three different spaces nature is a captive of the man-made one. The peninsula of the 3 Rivers park is in downtown Pittsburg. When you enter the park you are confronted by a billboard which is not an advertisement but a confrontation between nature and man. Two taxidermied deer stare at the viewers as they enter the park. It is almost an accusation of their loss of habitat. A moment of resentment on their part. Elsewhere in the park under a concrete bridge two dead deer lay on a concrete support under a steel buttress of the bridge. The huge buttress above has mirrors installed into each section creating a horizontal bar of mirrored light reflecting back to the viewer. A bell hangs under the bridge, but it's silence is telling. Nature has been largely banished and the river below is a vestigial reminder of it. In an art gallery in another part of the city, a video plays. It is an essentialization of man's presence on the planet and his relationship to nature. Once again the contemplative nature of Ping Chong's installation work is apparent here.