As a sport, ping pong is said to be almost equal for the women’s game as compared to that of the man’s. A game commonly played in China and Singapore, ping pong requires a minimum of two players, constituting a form of dialogue between the players on opposite sides as the ball bounces back and forth.
In this work, the structure and rules of ping pong are reinvented in the context of contemporary possibilities as the artist seeks alternative models of interaction. By reinventing the shape of a traditional ping pong table to that not unlike a conference table with no borders on its left and right, Lee Wen offers a different perception of its limitations and opens multiple possibilities for broader dialogue. As opposed to traditional, rectangular-shaped ping pong tables, Ping Pong Go-Round is at once a multi-player game and a dialogue between numerous people, regardless of gender and age around a donut-shaped table.
First enacted in April 1998 Melbourne Australia, during an International event “Construction in Process VI – The Bridge”, Lee Wen’s new take on ping pong has since gained attention from international media. Moreover, as Ping Pong Go-Round continues to be featured in exhibitions around the world, the work has invited and encouraged dialogue and challenge through sport and games.
