Posters for Earth Week: Theme: The Rainforest

"Let every individual and institution now think and act as a responsible trustee of Earth, seeking choices in ecology, economics and ethics that will provide a sustainable future, eliminate pollution, poverty and violence, awaken the wonder of life and foster peaceful progress in the human adventure."

— John McConnell, founder of International Earth Day

My original idea was to have a photo collage of the endangered plants and animals. But keeping in mind that this was supposed to be more of an information poster, I added a few lines of description below each photo, as well as introduction paragraphs for the endangered plants and animals. Photos were kept big and plenty so as to capture more attention.

                                             

 Had the most fun doing up this poster. Made with spray paint and masking tape, simple yet cool finish. It captured a lot of attention during the exhibition outside the school canteen and drew many to come forward to take a look at the other posters. Got my hands bloody red after finishing the poster, but it was fun and worth it. Besides, I managed to scare my mother into thinking that I had an accident earlier in school. An added bonus :D

After making the poster in the earlier photo, I thought that there ought to be some information about poaching to add to the severity of the whole situation. This is when this poster came in. Not as attractive, and there's too much white (negative space) making the poster rather dull and empty. But then again, this is the crucial information that had to convince people that poaching is a serious problem. Well, the earlier poster can do the 'attention-drawing', and this one will do the 'talking'.

 This is the wallpaper that I designed for the school computers. It shows the before and after photos of deforestation and poaching, two of the most severe problems faced by the rainforest. A stark and even shocking contrast between the two. The vast green forest reduced to a dead pile of chopped up tree trunks; the cute bear playing with itself on the field, reduced to the paws, skin and raw flesh. Many are aware of such threats faced by the forest and the animals living in it, but few do their part to prevent such cases from happening. It's sad and frustrating to know that it's impossible to stop this from happening myself, without changing the stubborn mindset of the masses who think that it is none of their business.

You would probably have guessed my intention for this year's Earth Week activities and exhibitions; to scare and make those who are guilty of wasting paper and buying real leather feel guilty. Indeed, when this was first displayed on screen for my class, several looked away and there was much commotion about the gruesome nature of the photos. But this is reality and it will remain a reality if everyone continues to be irresponsible and indifferent to such cruelty of mankind.

Beach Cleanup with Green Club :D

It's Earth Day:D. Thought that as the Green Club, we ought to do something for the environment, so I suggested a beach cleanup. We suffered, we melted, and we had fun:)

Big Foot? Some giant monster raiding East Coast Park? While walking from the bus-stop towards the coast area, I chanced upon this pair of 'footprints'. Well, actually, it's not that big, it's only slightly bigger than my foot. Didn't put my foot next to it as I didn't want to give it away so easily. That's probably how the Big Foot or UFOs come about, from people's imaginations. Found it interesting so I took it down.

Kind of expected to see this: the beach was sewn with all sorts of trash, from plastic bottles, aluminum cans to chicken bones and tidbit wrappers. Sigh, the trash is seriously an eye sore. Cleaned up the beach as best as we could. But even after a full 2 hours, there were still a lot of trash lining the beach. It's sad how the scenery of the coast can be ruined by those who can't be bothered to clear their trash properly.

Clouds disappeared and the sun appeared half way into the cleanup. It was really burning hot and humid, the worst and most common weather condition in Singapore. What's more, there're no trees along the beach, just sand and more sand. Didn't put sunblock either, so after the cleanup, I got the 'lobster' look and a terrible headache. Great.

Fond of the water, as always, especially when it's a really hot day. If only I could jump in and stay there all day, refreshing and cooling, the perfect remedy for the scorching weather. But then again, the water isn't exactly clean; straws, plastic bags and even dead fishes bob up and down in the waters near the coast. Would rather be cooked than to dive into those waters.

It's about 1 hour since we begun. Got a bid bored, so I wrote this with a random tree branch. Even though I was about half dead and melted, I still had much fun during the Beach cleanup. It's amazing how a simple activity of picking up litter can bond ppl together. It reminded me of the wonderful juniors and friends that I have in Green Club. Love you guys <3

Thought that it looked cool, with the shadows and close detail of the sand. In case you were wondering, the horizontal thing that cut across the photo is one of the tiles which we found in a huge sack buried under the sand (talk about the weird things people throw on the beach). Was trying to capture the earthworm on the tile but my camera isn't of high resolution and the worm turned out to be just that little pinkish dot on the tile.

The area that we cleaned. A sharp contrast to the earlier photo. Can't help but feel proud of ourselves for cleaning up this part of the beach. What can I say, it's worth the 'torture'. Blue sky, clear blue waters, clean coast......if only it could remain like this forever. But I doubt it. There will always be that one or two people who ruin the scenery. Enjoy it while you can.

Walking back to the bus-stop after the exhausting 2 hours of clean-up. The sun is still shining as brightly as it possibly can. Three clear and distinct shadows cast on the pathway. Air-con, a refreshing shower, ice-cream, here we come!

Chanced upon this cat sleeping under a car parked at the road side. It was probably already there when we first started the cleanup. Having a late morning nap, cooling off in the shadow of the car, while we stand under the hot sun all day, bending down to pick trash off the beach...Jealous...

The bus took forever to come. Bored, I took an interest in the tree behind the bus-stop. Who knew that a bark of a tree trunk would be so interesting. Frosty white, natural brown, burnt umber, nature's fascinating if you would just stop to look.

Sigh, what can I say after that 2 hours under the sun; I'm red, roasted and sore all over. Moral of the story? Leave nothing but footprints. Not plastic bottles, not aluminum cans and certainly not chicken bones or satay sticks!

Singapore Art - National Identity in Art?

Qns: With globalization, it is futile for Singapore to persist in establishing a national identity in art. Discuss.

Singapore is a unique society in which many different cultures and races congregate and live together in harmony. In such a cosmopolitan country, it is inevitable that these migrants bring along their cultures and practices to Singapore and influence the societal practices here. Therefore, Singaporeans are advantaged as they get to experience a variety of cultures, from food to clothing and definitely in art. However, the national identity of Singaporeans becomes blurred as result of such globalization and influx of foreign cultures. 'Uniquely Singaporean' becomes increasingly clouded and we ask ourselves, is there even Singaporean art in the first place? If there is, what is it?

Upon first glance, it may seem that there are no artworks that are undeniably Singaporean. The painting styles adopted by local artists are often either western-influenced or chinese-influenced (Chinese painting and calligraphy), renown sculptors, such as Ng Eng Teng, and artists, like Liu Kang, were mostly born in olden China and pursued an art education in London and France, graduating from art institutions overseas. As a result, the works that they created often drew inspirations from their motherlands as well as their art education. In this sense, these works would not be 'made-in-Singapore'.

Some may regard artworks done in the Nanyang Style to be Singaporean Art. Indeed, the Nanyang Style does seem to have the multicultural quality that Singapore possesses, the merging of both the western and eastern styles of painting. Our pioneer artists, Liu Kang and Georgette Chen, both adopted this style. However, it is important to note that the Nanyang Style only seeks to portray life in the Southeast Asia region, which included several countries other than Singapore.

However, if one ponders over it, the Singapore national identity does exist in art. A well-known example is the renowned artist, Chua Mia Tee, whose works are often referred to as underlining 'a vigorous search towards an anti-colonialist and nationalistic identity in art'. Indeed, famous works like the National Language class (1950) portrays the historical scene of Singapore in the olden days, where Malay was once the national language of Singapore, and students of various races and linguistic habits learn Malay from the cikgu: the bespectacled middle-class man of pressed pants and shoes, the working-class man in white cotton shirt tucked out of khaki slacks in loafers, the woman in white Chinese school uniform dress, the smiling nonya woman in capped baju Shanghai and so on. Workers in a Canteen (1974) is another notable work which acknowledges the hard-work and contribution of the working class to the then young nation's program of rapid industrialization and economic development.

Another example is First Generation, the sculpture depicting five kampong boys jumping into the Singapore River for a swim. This sculpture captures the simple and happy lifestyles of the people living along the Singapore River several generations ago.

From these examples, one can gather that Singaporean art is present, not in terms of the style and techniques of creating the artwork, but in terms of the subject matter depicted in the works, capturing the locals' living and working scenes of Singapore's past. These works act as a nostalgic reminder for the older generation of their childhood, when Singapore was still a fishing village moving into urbanization. Younger generations, on the other hand, may not relate to these works as they do not have the fond memories of Kangpong life that their parents possess.

One may argue that most of such 'Singapore art' are often based in the earlier years of the 1970s and 1980s, whereas 21st century artworks are often contemporary works that addresses general issues that people all over the world can relate to, such as obesity and poverty rather than subject matter specifically pertaining to Singapore. Indeed, globalization has made the world a smaller place and local artists are starting to target an international audience.

Yet there is a notable handful of 21st century local artists who draws inspirations from their daily lives in Singapore and creates works that Singaporeans can relate to. An example is the group vertical submarine, consisting of three artists, Joshua Yang, Justin Loke and Fiona Koh. One of their recent works is Foreign Talent (2007), which acted as a commentary on Singaporeans’ negative views of foreign workers.

Two statues were in erected for about two months in the Raffles Landing Site, and Little India – a known gathering place for many migrant workers. The heroic representation of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles in the form of a polished statue was placed in contrast to the archetypal figure of a migrant worker represented in raw concrete with a rough finish. Both pedestals of the migrant worker statues were fitted with plaques bearing the following words: On this obscure site and many others we landed on Singapore soil since time immemorial with our labour and toil changed your genius and perception from a mere idea to a concrete reality. Till now, the influx of foreign workers remains a worrying concern to many Singaporeans.

Your vote is our Secret (2011) is a recent work by local artists, Antz and Eeshaun, inspired by the just concluded General Elections 2011 in Singapore. Indeed, this year’s General Elections is, undoubtedly, the most exciting and heated battle between the People’s Action Party (PAP) and 6 other opposition parties, with newspapers, the radio and even twitter and face book covering any news about the elections. Therefore, it is no surprise when Antz and Eeshaun presented this work in the ‘Raw Art Face Off’ exhibition.

Besides, Singaporean Art is being promoted, and artists are encouraged to create works that reflect our national identity. MM I love you and Beyond LKY are exhibitions that displayed works reflecting the Singapore identity, which are held in conjunction with the National Day last year in 2010. Indeed, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew is a politician who all Singaporeans are indebted to. He has shaped this island from a fishing village to what it is today. Exhibitions like these spur Singaporeans to review their national identity, urging us to return to our roots and ask ourselves, “What makes us Singaporeans?” --- An important question in the globalization era.

As can be seen in the earlier examples, local contemporary artists do create artworks based on themes of much relevance to Singapore. Therefore, the Singapore national identity does exist in the local art scene. While it is hard to say for certain if a revolutionary Singapore art movement will be started, Singapore art is definitely developing with time and one should give the local art scene some time to grow instead of completely writing off the idea of establishing a national identity in art.

Yet answering the question “What makes us Singaporeans?” is not easy, for we are not of one ethnicity, but of a multitude of cultures. Our experiences as a nation are also limited to the 66 years after independence, considering that countries like Japan and England had centuries to bond and uncover their unique national identity. The search for our national identity continues and one should allow art to aid in finding that character that makes us unique.