Louie Cordero, Pong & The Happy Camper, 2016
The works of Filipino artist Louie Cordero, also invited adults to play during SONSBEEK ’16. Behind the Stadsvilla you could play a game on one of his unusually shaped ping-pong tables with a striking print. Louie brings a piece of the colorful and cheerful streets of Manila to Park Sonsbeek. For the prints, he uses the same car paint that adorns the city buses (Jeepneys) in Manila. It is customary there to paint the buses as originally as possible. The crazier the design, the better. Ping-pong is also popular, not just as a sport, but also as a social event.
Two of the four ping-pong tables can still be seen in Arnhem: in the sculpture garden of Museum Arnhem and in the city center on Rodenburgstraat.
Louie’s other artwork, a two-meter-high three-dimensional head made of foam and fiberglass, was completed during the exhibition. The head suffers from progeria: a rare disease of aging. On one side, the head is missing its skin, thus providing insight into human anatomy. Pieces of clay and gumball machines invite you to reconstruct the face. While modeling and chewing, you thought about where you wanted to leave a trace of yourself…
Unconsciously, you followed in the footsteps of Western imperialists during the colonial era. The question arises: isn't colonization, like sticking chewing gum on an object in public space, a form of vandalism?
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