Ping Pong Go Round - lee wen 李文

“Construction in Process VI - The Bridge” 
April 1998 Melbourne Australia
Organized by Artists Museum

    Table tennis has been around for nearly a century now. As a sport it is said to be almost equal for the women’s game as compared to that of the man’s.
    The game itself is like a dialogue between players on opposite sides. Would it be possible to change its shape to that like a conference table? By making it a doughnut round shape with no borders towards the left and right side, a different perception of the limitations of the preceding game gives new possibilities of a broader dialogue.
    A round Ping-Pong table was made out of plywood. It was made up of 15 tabletops to be set up as doughnut shaped. The diameter was 6 meters across. Players play from inside to another player on the outside.
    After constructing it, the table was set up for a day in a community center for play by casual visitors. It looked like a sculpture by itself and yet when it is being played it becomes a structure for a sport or game.
    The next day it was set up in front the General Post Office, in a pedestrian mall in Melbourne. Again casual passers-by were encouraged to play on the Ping-Pong table. On the third day it was set up in a vacated building where various other installations were also set up for a month long exhibition.