There is an immortal beloved in everyone’s heart.
Famous musician Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) left a letter before he passed away. In the beginning of the letter, whose receiver is “The immortal beloved”, Beethoven writes, “My Angel, my all, and my very self.” There is no receiver’s address or date on this unsent letter. Even though people have tried to identify the intended recipient, this still remains a mystery. Because of this letter, people have imagined and speculated that deep down in Beethoven’s heart, there is an incompletion of his love life.
Similarly, Malaysian artist Chang Yoong Chia is looking for unexpected stories. over the last 2 years, he has created a series of artworks named “The Immortal Beloved”, employing a collage of postage stamps. Using chopped postage stamps as his medium, the artist intends to depict the small pieces of papers as conveying the meaning of history.
In today’s fast-paced world, Chang extends his desire of slowing down his life into his art. Starting from his first solo exhibition of collaged stamps “The World Is Flat” in 2011, to this new series of works “Immortal Beloved”, Chang has embarked on a brave artistic practice. In a departure from his previous exhibition, some of the works in “Immortal Beloved” display old objects, so called “evidence,” which includes letters, rental receipts, death certificates, in addition to used postage stamps with special images and those stamped with special slogans.
This time, Chang no longer marks the main historical affairs from his knowledge on a large-scale world map; instead, he searched individuals who lived in the same places shown on the map, and presented it with its vivid details. The blocks of little tiny corners are marked silently, within which, everyone’s faces are focused in his artworks, slowly telling you —– the story of the Immortal Beloved.
