gdm is thrilled to present Alison Nguyen's debut presentation in Hong Kong at Art Basel Encounters from 26-30 March 2025 — "Prosthetic Memory", an installation involving two multichannel video works which explore the relationship between media, cultural memory, and individual histories shaped by and resistant to assimilation.
"Aisle 9", a new film by Alison Nguyen, is a work of speculative fiction which deals with cultural memory, censorship, and subversion of state censorship. Set in the near future, a family-owned hosiery company rents out part of its factory space to avoid further employee layoffs and possible foreclosure. Amidst the haze of dire economic times, things take a turn for the better when their storage ad is answered and a startup company rents a large vacant space in the warehouse. Strange boxes begin flooding in at unpredictable times and in large volumes.
The warehouse crew, a tight-knit group of misfits, become annoyed at the erratic nature of the workflow. Discontent spreads throughout the staff; at night they play archery in the warehouse aisles and smoke and speculate as to what is happening with the influx of boxes. One night an arrow sails into Aisle 9 where the new tenant’s boxes are stored. With their interest piqued, they open the tenant’s boxes and find that they are full of government censored material.
Apprehensive, a worker drags over a monitor for the rest to watch the censored material and they dread what kind of political content they might see. Much to their surprise the censored material is that of everyday life – video diaries, home movies, artist films, and prosumer content. At night the staff slowly begin to turn Aisle 9 into viewing stations where they take in the censored materials and memories pass through the screen.
Photo Credit: Ben Salesse
