Whitestone Gallery Taipei is currently presenting "Alternate Reality: Southeast Asian Exhibition" a group show that explores diverse perceptions of reality through the works of artists from Southeast Asia.

Chen Sai Hua Kuan, born in Singapore, reconstructs everyday situations to open new perspectives through his unique sense of sound. This exhibition explores how new perspectives on daily life emerge and take shape as artworks, focusing on his process and sources of inspiration.

Whitestone Gallery Taipei｜Chen Sai Hua Kuan "Chitter-Chatter 4" 2024，40.0 x 28.0 x 114.5 cm，Dental casts and wood

- Could you introduce your artistic technique and process?

Sai: "Why Not" is both a metaphor and a method for me. My process is intuitive and responsive. This is how I engage with my materials and process. I allow materials to guide me rather than imposing meaning onto them. I'm interested in how everyday objects can carry histories, contradictions, and emotional weight. By interacting with them through touch, sound, and movement, I explore how materiality can generate thought and feeling simultaneously.

Whitestone Gallery Taipei｜Chen Sai Hua Kuan "Together No.3" 2023，40.0 x 28.0 x 114.5 cm，Brass

- Many of your works draw from everyday experiences and overlooked details. What drives you to focus on these subtle aspects of daily life?

Sai: That's simply how I see and experience the world — through small, often unnoticed physical encounters. These subtle moments carry a quiet intensity that excites me. My habit of paying attention to the mundane opens up space for reflection and connection. I'm drawn to the ordinary not because it's simple, but because it's layered, complex, and deeply human.

Whitestone Gallery Taipei

- What inspired the Chitter-Chatter series, and how did your residency experiences, such as in Tainan, influence its development?

Sai: Chitter-Chatter was inspired during my residency in Tainan, where I became fascinated by the number of dental clinics woven into the cityscape. This curiosity led me to collect discarded dental casts from local dentists — objects used for dentures, implants, and bridges. These casts, imprinted with the intimate details of individual mouths, became a powerful symbol of personal identity and collective memory.

The project launched on 13 January, 2024, coinciding with Taiwan's 8th presidential election. By animating the casts into mechanical conversations, I transformed them into voices participating in a broader civic dialogue highlighting the tensions between speech, power, and being heard. The residency was essential in providing both the material and conceptual grounding for the work, allowing me to connect personal, local remnants to a national moment of political importance.

Whitestone Gallery Taipei｜Chen Sai Hua Kuan　"Erlang Shen"2023，21.0 × 14.0 × 6.0 cm，Plastic, carbon frame

- How do you see sound functioning as a medium compared to visual elements in your practice?

Sai: Sound makes space feel alive — it allows objects to ""speak"" and invites the audience into a more embodied experience. It introduces time, rhythm, and emotional texture, engaging the body in ways that visual elements alone cannot. Sound can surround, interrupt, or unsettle; it shapes how we move through and feel within a space.

Nevertheless, I don't privilege one sense over another. All sensory elements — sound, spatial experience, smell, temperature — are important in my practice. I aim to create environments where these senses interact, offering a holistic, multisensory encounter with the work.

Whitestone Gallery Taipei

Chen Sai Hua Kuan's multisensory art experience forms an intriguing dialogue with the other artists participating in this exhibition. Imhathai Suwatthanasilp explores gender and existentialism through human hair, Le Quy Tong creates works themed around collective memory from social media images, Nurrachmat Widyasena questions the boundary between reality and fantasy through his fictional tech company, and Maharani Mancanagara depicts her grandfather's political experiences in charcoal drawings. Each artist presents their own "alternate reality" through unique approaches.

Alternate Reality: Southeast Asian Exhibition