A Glass of Water ‘16 is a looped version of the short video A Glass of Water by Aki Pao-Chen Chiu that was created especially for the Becoming exhibition. The video shows the movement of water pouring into an invisible glass. The flow of water, the body of water and the reflecting shadow on the table are emphasised in the scene while the glass is absent.

The American archaeologist Michael Schiffer describes human life as the complex of ceaseless and varied interactions among people and myriad kinds of things. The interactions between human and ordinary utilitarian artefacts, such as pens, doors, or cups, connect us to the external world, as well as manifests our identities. The objects we use and how we use them reveal our cultural background, education, ideology, and so forth. By researching the connections with the artefacts that we use on a regular basis, Chiu discovers how man made objects define who we are and how we see the world differently through those items.

Chiu is among artists exhibiting in Becoming, a group exhibition at the RCA’s Dyson Gallery presented by Sedition and Subject Matter in February 2017.