“Stagger,” as a verb, is defined as “to walk, move or stand unsteadily, or to falter,” while as an adjective “staggering” means large and at times overwhelming. “Staggering Matter,” in the literal sense, describes a “large, overwhelming event (or object),” but also alludes to the hidden side of the “object,” which is unstable and lacks support. Chen has purposely chosen a title open to interpretation. 

In Staggering Matter Chen revisits some of the concepts he explored in his project the LiQUiD STATE, particularly in regards to self-knowledge and the imagining of the body. Through his new installations, videos, paintings, and drawings, Chen moves the oppressed and restrained body through various forms, personalities, and perspectives in an effort to extract himself from his work. When one is emptied of reality and history, no matter the sense of fearlessness or failure, the result is helplessness when coping with the weight of history. This sense of history is transformed, by the digital age’s speed and large amounts of information, into a vast imaginative space.