12 March – 9 May 2004
The gallery of Chinese Arts Centre will be transformed into a ‘theatre’ for the premiere of Whodunnit?, a video piece by London-based Singaporean artist, Ming Wong.
Whodunnit? was created as a response to the world’s longest running English-language play, Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mousetrap’ (now in its 51st year).
Borrowing the form of a classic middlebrow English amateur dramatics drawing-room detective drama, Whodunnit? is the longest running (and as yet unsolved) ‘who-done-it’ in history. Instead of reaching a final point of resolution it is a never-ending chain of suspicion, accusation, betrayal and fear, with the added drama of cultural politics.
Taking the ethnic origin categories provided on arts funding monitoring forms as a guide, the artist auditioned actors from various ethnic minority groups in the UK, including African, Afro-Caribbean, Asian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Latin American, Greek Cypriot, Eastern European, Jewish, Irish, etc.
The cast was required to perform in two constructed accents: RP (received pronunciation) and a ‘foreign’ accent, drawing on his/her professional as well as personal experience of representing his/her own cultural identity.
In the film, the accents switch back and forth, betraying the shifts in allegiance amongst the characters as the murder mystery is played out.
At a time when ‘cultural diversity’ is common terminology in the arts Whodunnit? raises questions about the adequacy of categories we are given to define ourselves and highlights the multiplicity and shifting nature of British identity.
Whilst Ming Wong has shown extensively in both UK and overseas, with exhibitions at the Window Gallery at the British Council, Prague, the education department of the Serpentine Gallery, EAST, Norwich and Waterman’s Art Centre, this presentation at Chinese of will be his first major solo exhibition.
The production of Whodunnit? has been made possible by the support of London Artists’ Film and Video Award, Film London.
Whodunnit? has also been supported by Malmaison Hotels Bars & Brasseries, Tiger Beer and CARTE D’OR Walls Ice Cream.
