Isaac Chong Wai
Leaderless Flag, 2020; Leaderless Poster, 2020
Isaac Chong Wai, Leaderless, 2020–2021, Kunsthaus Hamburg 2024, Courtesy the artist, Zilberman and Kulturakademie Tarabya, Photo: Antje Sauer
In his performances, video works, installations, photographs and drawings, Isaac Chong Wai (*1990) investigates themes such as collectivism and individualism, geopolitics and identity politics, migration and historical trauma.
Isaac Chong Wai – audio guide in plain language
The work series Leaderless is an artistic-political campaign aimed at decentralizing power and undermining violent totalitarianism. The series includes posters reminiscent of campaign adverts and a banner made of semi-transparent fabric from which the word “LEADERLESS” has been cut out in large letters. The posters feature images of the performance Rehearsal of the Futures: Leaderless. By appropriating and reformulating gestures and attitudes adopted by politicians to generate power, Chong creates a social structure without totalitarian leadership. Postures alongside our perceptions of bodies are reflected upon and reshaped together. Questions about transnationality and power structures arise as a result, encouraging a collective discourse on individualism and community spirit.