Let them eat cake!

WHILE celebrations of Merdeka Day seemed to be more muted than usual this year, conceptual artist Chi Too decided to mark the country’s independence with even less pomp and circumstance but no less significance.

“It’s Merdeka, everyone wants a piece of cake” was the greeting on the Facebook page inviting Malaysians to participate in merdeka + cake = <3 that Chi Too co-organised. The plan was simple: show up at Dataran Merdeka on 31 Aug 2010 to meet and greet, picnic together, and commemorate the day with cake.

Chi Too, who is also a filmmaker, told The Fairly Current Show host Fahmi Fadzil that the idea of using public spaces came out of an informal gathering with a few friends on Merdeka Day last year. Even when people got together to “do nothing”, he realised that meaningful events could be commemorated in an intimate, but no less meaningful, way.

Chi Too was also behind the Everything’s Gonna Be Alright gathering held on 9 Jan 2010 in the wake of the “Allah” controversy and arson attempts on churches. He is also the organiser of Main Dengan Rakyat, an attempt at reclaiming public spaces by inviting Malaysians to come together to play.

All pics and caption information above are courtesy of Chi Too.

The Nut Graph needs your support