Golden Rice Cookers

Mixed Media installation
2025

Golden Rice Cookers draws from the the familiar experience of growing up with rice a as staple in many Asian households. This installation reflects on the notion of growth though the prosense of the rice cooker at home, the circulation of folktales about rice and rice as a daily source of sustenance.

Composed of used rice cookers, the work highlights the object as both ordinary and symbolic. Variations in form and colour, as well as wear and tear from the stains and dents suggest the many years, lives and meals they have supported.

Installed in a library, the work references the recurring depiction of ripened padi fields as golden in folklores. Excerpt of these tales that has been passed down through generations, are printed with gold foils on the surfaces of the cookers.

Accompanied by a participatory workshop, the installation invites individuals to transform themselves into plant-like forms and “plant” themselves within the rice cookers. As more contributions are added over time, the work expands—mirroring how we grow, both physically and metaphorically, alongside rice.