Cindy Cheng

Lives and works in Baltimore, MD, USA

Artist statement

Thematically, my studio work is preoccupied with the practice of conspiracy, which means not just particular theories but the actual history and culture that sustains and propagates what can now be called the mainstream fringe. I think that as beliefs which have been heavily influenced by isolated flows of information and by personal experience is increasingly prioritized over provable facts, there is a corresponding need to examine the culture of conspiracy more closely. As my research progresses, it is useful to keep in mind that everything is a product of its historical circumstances, so even entities that seemed to burst onto the scene, like Qanon, had to have been building for a while. Tracing back conspiratorial dialogues and artifacts, it becomes obvious that these practices have historic roots which belie media narratives presenting conspiracism as a new threat – though this is changing as the danger of conspiratorial narratives becomes more obvious. I am interested in looking deeper into this complex and seemingly chaotic world, allowing the nature of conspiracy to unfold in unpredictable ways. My interest in this topic is digested through various creative and craft processes, material explorations and through play with spatial relationships. As a maker, I want to retain and strengthen the power of poetic translation. I am interested in using artistic processes to transform my investigations into something subtle and experiential, something simultaneously familiar...

Artwork