In many landscapes across the world, you can find informal, man-made sculptures known as cairns. They consist of loosely piled rocks and serve as landmarks on hiking trails or other slow routes, as magical or religious nodes of contemplation, or simply as the result of a playful creative act. They are anonymous sculptures, made by someone who came before us; and perhaps one of the very first attempts at sculpture as a species. They are a simple iteration of a social contract: we share this space and leave traces behind for others to see and interpret.
Artist Heman Chong asked the team of the Antwerp Public Art Collection to invite an individual who likes to hike (Viktor Pira) to collect rocks whilst out on a walk, and build a cairn on top of the disused plinth in the Stadspark. Chong wrote Viktor a letter, explaining his intentions and giving instructions on how to execute the work. This letter is made public on the display sign standing next to the plinth. Letter to Viktor is not so much about the sculpture that exists atop the plinth, as it is about the exchange and interaction (at a distance) between the artist and Viktor, two avid hikers.
Heman Chong (b. 1977, Muar, Malaysia) lives and works in Singapore. He has participated in the Venice Biennale (2003), Manifesta (2010), the Gwangju Biennale (2014) the Sydney Biennale (2016), the Lahore Biennale (2024) and the Sharjah Biennale (2025), among others. Chong is the founder and co-director (along with Renée Staal) of The Library of Unread Books, a library comprised of donated books that have never been read by their original owners.