The Hour Glass Unveils Doppelgänger by Jun Ong at ART SG

The Hour Glass, Associate Partner of ART SG, the inaugural edition of the largest art fair in Southeast Asia and the Oceanic region, presents Malaysian artist Jun Ong's newly-commissioned work, Doppelgänger. Project managed by The Artling, the work will be on display at basement 2, Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, and open to all ART SG visitors. 

Since 1979, The Hour Glass has constantly sought to establish new avenues that draw parallels between the beauty of watchmaking art with the universe of contemporary visual arts and design. Their landmark exhibition, "Then Now Beyond", held in 2019 on the occasion of their 40th anniversary, featured specially commissioned works by renowned artists and designers such as Daniel Arsham, nendo, and Marc Newson. 

The Hour Glass’s commitment as a prosecutor of culture and the arts is long-standing, from prominent works of art featured throughout their various corporate offices and boutiques to bespoke projects in collaboration with acclaimed international artists. For the inaugural edition of Art SG, The Hour Glass has selected emerging Malaysian talent, Jun Ong, as its first artist for its multi-year sponsorship of the fair. 

Ong's artwork seeks to examine the multiverse theory, considering how doppelgȁngers can exist in parallel universes. Doppelgänger incorporates organic elements sampled from decades-old roots of Mentaling trees native to the mangrove swamps of Johor and juxtaposes it against an intricate light installation. This work serves as a proposition on the conceptual imagined reality of parallel universes that exist within our immediate spacetime continuum. Nestled within the bustle of an art fair, Ong hopes the work will provide a spacelike environment for calm and contemplation. 

To realise this ambitious artwork, Ong collaborated with master craftsman, Law Keng Futt, a 30-year veteran in the fabrication of neon glass lights. With the human element increasingly removed from most industries, the delicate art of neon glass blowing is a vanishing tradecraft, particularly in Southeast Asia. The challenge of hand-bending the glass elements to perfectly match a natural form was one that Law was eager to accept. In this way, the creative process of the artwork juxtaposes a contemporary idea that is reflected in a traditional medium.

A soundscape composed by euseng seto, a Malaysian electro-acoustic sound artist, accompanies the installation, adding to the ethereal and otherworldly sensations when enveloped within the installation. 

"The Hour Glass has a longstanding commitment to support contemporary visual artists and we are thrilled to present this new work by Jun Ong at the inaugural edition of ART SG. This installation – Doppelgänger – levers off a much-debated hypothesis concerning the existence of multiple parallel universes existing within a single linear time continuum and provides us with a thought-provoking render of its possibility" - Michael Tay, Group Managing Director, The Hour Glass

About The Hour Glass
At The Hour Glass, their mission is to advance watch culture. Known for their thoughtfully curated selection of brands, a passion for designing uniquely immersive retail experiences and their team of highly knowledgeable watch specialists, they strive to become the primary port of call for all watch enthusiasts and collectors alike. Every day across our combined network of 50 boutiques in the Asia Pacific region, they are poised to further your appreciation of watches and ready to guide you in your hunt for a superlative timepiece. 

About Jun Ong
Born in 1988, Jun Ong is a Kuala Lumpur-based light artist. His work “Star” - a five-storey light installation in Penang was nominated for World's Best in Spatial Art at the Media Architecture Biennale (2016) in Sydney. He has shown at major art festivals like iLight Marina Bay Singapore (2016), Live the City Festival Bangkok (2016) and Art Central Hong Kong (2018). Trained in architecture, he constantly looks at how the manipulation of artificial light could affect the way we experience the built form and its environment. He has collaborated with programmers, video artists, urban planners and sound artists in his multi-scaled works. Jun has been commissioned by brands like Nike, Adidas, Gucci and Philips Lighting for site-specific light installations and also by institutions such as the Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the ArtScience Museum in Singapore to create science and tech-inspired immersive installations. In parallel with his art practice, Jun is the co-founder of the KL-based spatial design studio, POW Ideas and is currently a lecturer in lighting design at Sunway University, Malaysia. With a think-tank approach, Jun and his students develop research and design in sensorial deprivation, performative lighting, and illuminative psychology.

Dates: 12 - 15 January 2023
Address: ART SG, 10 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018956, Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Basement 2

All images are courtesy of The Hour Glass and Jun Ong.