Key Chains :D

Felt really bored with my IH notes, so I grabbed some dough and made these key chains. Yup, I was feeling rather hungry then... cake, tart, waffle and macaroons (Mmmm...)
They are really quite small (compared to my finger, refer to last pic), so it was difficult to create the details. Putting the various part together and making sure that they stick is the hardest, some parts fell out and I had to attach them back together with PVA glue.

Charles LaBelle - Singapore Art Biennale 2011

In 1997, Charles LaBelle began a drawing project of sketching every building before he entered them. This idea originated from his fear he had developed upon entering buildings; the buildings extended several meters above ground and overwhelmed him. LaBelle felt as if he was being swallowed and engulfed by the towering construction. Following an advice from his friend, LaBelle began 'sizing up' each building before entering them, taking photographs and keeping a record of its date, time and location. LaBelle grew increasingly fond of the wave of self-consciousness that overcame him through the simple act of looking at  a building. As the artist described, "Suddenly, I didn't fear being 'swallowed-up' but I felt like I was the one who was swallowing the world one building at a time."

I was rather impressed by the details of the sketches of the various buildings as well as the initial idea behind the project. Essentially, LaBelle reduced every building to a size not larger than an A5 size piece of paper, so that the building is not only less dominating, but also seems much more fragile and prone to the 'destruction' of the artist himself. The details paid to each building is also incredible; the sketches are realistic.

By sketching every building he entered and recording the time, date and location of the sketches, LaBelle is also keeping a documentation of his personal experiences and encounters throughout his life (at least since he started sketching). For example, his sketches of the Esplanade, TaiBei 101, the Lovre, ... suggests that he has travelled to Singapore, Taiwan, London, and many other countries. There were even drawings of buildings we often pay little attention to, such as the seven-eleven store.

If you have also noticed from the pictures below, his sketches were all drawn on torn-out pages from a book, with most lines taped white, while some interesting phrases were left visible to the viewers, such as "Fragment on Knowledge, on the Fact of Action and on Questioning", "A nightmare is my truth and nakedness." as well as "in the realm of the senses". Perhaps he felt that the documentation of his experiences could be akin to recording his life story, using sketches instead of words. The words left untaped could also be phrases which reflects his feelings and thoughts upon the encounter with the building. Most phrases left me deep in thought and I found particularly thought-provoking.

What started as a personal project, evolved to become a documentation of his life:

 

 

 

 

:) :D >.<

Art Stage Singapore - T. Venkanna

A shocking exhibition of a stark naked man at the Art Stage Singapore exhibition, held at Marina Bay Sands has attracted much attention from both the public as well as the media, most of which were criticisms and comments aimed to ridicule the artist himself. One of the readers of the New Paper commented that, “It’s “worth” paying $250 to take photo with an ancient caveman. What's missing is a club in his hand.” while several others felt that it was an exhibition and a bold stunt to earn money ($250 per photograph) instead of an artistic expression.

However, before we go about criticizing the artist, an understanding of the background of the artist is essential in order to fully understand his intentions for such a display in such a conservative nation. The artist, T. Venkanna, is from Hyderabad, India, holding a Masters in Fine Arts in printmaking from M.S. University of Baroda and Bachelors in Fine Arts in painting from J.N.T.U. Hyderabad where he was awarded a Gold medal.  

A predominant subject in Venkanna's works is the sexual imagination, which questions and confronts the way sexuality is understood and defined by society. The theme of sex is ,therefore, evident throughout his works, from his sketches to paintings as well as his other artworks. In one of his most recent solo show ‘Sacred and Profane’ which showed at Gallery Maskara in 2010, sex in all various forms is the main topic throughout the exhibition; penises, inter-species copulation and urinals were subject matters for the artworks exhibited in the Gallery.

These achievements as well as the predominance of the sexual themes in many of his earlier works probably backs up his credibility as an artist as well as his claim to 'removing the trappings of identity', by posing naked, and holding the hands of the visitors in front of a replica of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo's The Two Fridas. “Mr Venkanna is using the painting to convey the idea of healing. He is reaching out to people through the gesture of touch, which is the most basic gesture of communication,” Maskara explains.

Why is it then that such an exhibition created such a commotion and criticism from many?

Firstly, a price tag was put onto the work. This thus led many to question the original intentions of the artist. Every photo was charged $250 and it was bewildering to realize that 350 visitors actually went to take a photo with Venkanna in his birthday suit against the backdrop of a replica. The controversy over which such an exhibition aimed to express an artistic intention or to 'rob' visitors of their money as well as to gain publicity hence arises.

Secondly, was such a display necessary to bring across the message of 'removing the trappings of identity'? Did Venkanna successfully convey this through the work? In my opinion, he did not. I do not doubt his artistic expressions given his lustrous resume. However, the fact that Art Stage Singapore is a public exhibition meant for people of all ages ought to be taken into consideration before any controversial or disturbing artworks are displayed. Furthermore, Singapore is a rather conservative society, as compared to the United States. Even though measures, such as limiting the viewing of the work to those above 21, were taken, those who eventually saw the nude were still very much shocked and disturbed by the work. Such an exhibition pushed the boundaries of society unnecessarily and thus caused much commotion and criticism of both the work and the artist. Perhaps if such a display were to be exhibited in the United States, it could become a different story.

In conclusion, I believe that while artists seek to freely express themselves through their artwork, considerations for the audience of the exhibition as well as their background ought to be taken into account before exhibiting the artwork in order to prevent unnecessary commotion and become defamed as a result. This incident shows that Singapore's society is not yet ready to accept the idea of nudity. Therefore, artistic expression has to be limited within the Singapore art scene until society becomes more open-minded.

Coursework Prepwork (final)

Can't believe that I'm finally done with the prepwork boards...took almost a day per board (8 days in total) to complete them, mostly because my sketches and research drawings were rather huge and I had trouble arranging and organizing them into the eight A2 boards. Ended up discarding some as they could not fit into the boards...T.T

Artist Statement: 

In the 21st century, we are all too aware of the many environmental issues that trouble mankind, from pollution to Global Warming, from ozone depletion to erratic weather conditions. Yet how many of us put in that extra effort or go the extra mile to conserve the environment? Apparently, not many. World leaders refuse to cut down on carbon emissions, ignore the pollutants from industries and remove thousands of hectares of forests to make way for more factories. It's for economic growth and the good of the people, as they commonly claim. Yet little do they know that millions upon millions are dying from the fumes of factories, droughts, water pollution...... and the list goes on. It's almost as if man is paving his own path to extinction.

In my coursework, I have explored the idea of victimization due to environmental destruction. Afterwhich I chose to focus on the irony of man's success and failure of conquering nature. This work aims to evoke a sense of fear in the viewers and make them realise the dire consequences of such actions on both the environment as well as ourselves.

Anyways, here's an overview of my pre-coursework research:

Decided to research into victimization as a result of man's environmental destruction. Here, I investigated on the effects of man's actions on animals and natives. You may find this rather repetitive and unoriginal as I still lack inspiration on how to go about expressing the topic...until...

 ... while doing research on environmental sustainability in China, I chanced upon this really interesting quote which sparked my inspiration and further areas of research into the topic,

"... we would have to be ready to suffer arrest, detention, imprisonment and death, as the only alternative to the struggle is extinction..."

- Ken Saro-Wiwa, Environmental Activist/writer

This made me realise the irony of the relationship between man and nature; while man attempts to dominate nature (and at times he seems successful), he is actually attempting to commit suicide and paving the path of the extinction of mankind. Such irony. This also reminded me of a quote by Han Sai Por, "we are a part of nature, not apart from nature." Therefore, while destroying nature, we destroy ourselves... and this led me on to several ideas of the composition of the final painting.

I then went on to investigate facial features as that is where most of our emotions are expressed. 

... then the hands to suggest the struggle and desperation... and my first few nude drawings...

while googling randomly for bodies, I came across a sculptor, Emil Alzamora, who was interested in distorting human figures to portray various situations (view my previous post). So I decided to investigate into the distortion of the human body to suggest a consequence/punishment of environmental destruction as well as to make the figures appear more disturbing.

I also experimented with the background drawing inspiration from the Raft of the Medusa by Theodore Gericault. wanted to keep the background as a light simple wash of the different shades of brown so that it would not 'steal the limelight' from the tree and the figures which were the main subject matter.

proceeded to research on the roughness of the tree bark on the trunk and roots. couldn't help but scrutinize the bark of almost every single tree I pass during this time... some passers-by stared at me like I was nuts...

tried painting the bark to suggest the texture. loved the thick paint to create the roughness of the bark. The darker color of the bark also brings out the 'creepy' feel to the tree :)

Finally, I experimented with the arrangement of the human figures... and arrived at my final composition.

Woah, close to 7 months of work... time flies...

Emil Alzamora (Distorted human forms)

I was searching for distorted body forms for inspiration for my coursework.

I chanced upon this artist, Emil Alzamora.

HIS WORKS ARE REALLY COOL!!!

These are a few of them: 

Afterlife Afterthought (2006)

[Elongated neck]

The body probably represents a dead person lying in an awkward position. The elongation of the head symbolizes the 'soul' of the dead person rising from the lifeless body, yet unable to let go of his life (thus the attachment of the head to the body via the neck). The head looks fondly at the body, unwilling to leave. Yet the the neck would eventually reach its maximum length, and what would happen then? A struggle to remain attached to the body? A detachment from life to enter afterlife?

Tether (2006)

[Elongated arm]

Tether (noun): a rope or chain with which an animal is tied to restrict its movement.

As suggested by its title, the elongated hand which is attached to the ground acts as a restriction to the supposed-to-be freely moving curled up body. It seems as if the body is struggling to rise up, only to be pulled down by his hand.

Voluptuary (2008)

[Exaggerated layers of fat]

Voluptuary (noun): a person devoted to luxury and sensual pleasure

This piece strikes me the most as being grotesque. Yet we cannot deny that reality is similar... over consumption of luxury goods (including food and other useless goods). Result? layers upon layers of fat to the extent that greatly affects one's life (as suggested by the trapped hand under the body, and the thick legs - impaired motion)

The subject matter for all his works are distorted human body forms. Apparently his interest is in the exaggeration and distortion of different aspects of the human body to illustrate a certain situation (as suggested by the titles) and elicit certain emotions or responses from the viewers.

Go visit his website: http://www.emilalzamora.com/
and be amazed (or disgusted) :)

OMG DALI ROCKS :DD

Went to the Art Science Museum for the Dali exhibition with my mom. Awed by Dali's genius :DD

Coursework in Progress II :DD

Day 7, 8, 9

(the blending took up most of the time...)

Day 10

(then later decided to redo the human figures...)

*sigh*

Details :)

chanced upon this really cool effect for the background. Originally wanted a wash of varying shades of black and grey. But I added too much turpentine and the paint started dripping. I suppose the 'cracks' created were due to the uneven surface (i.e. rough-ness) in the canvas. It gives the painting a lightning/thunderstorm kind of eerie and freaky atmosphere. Just hope that the figures would not spoil the painting. Got to work on my blending >.<

The black paint from the background continued to drip into the tree roots and the human figures...like veins strangling the figures :) The background also merges well with the trees and the figures this way too :D

Now to face my biggest enemy...BLENDING

***sigh***

A satire inspired by coursework --- Man and Nature

Dear all,

I am sending out this letter with utmost urgency and I beg you for a minute of your time to read it.

Environmental problems have been troubling world leaders in this twenty-first century. Global Warming, air pollution, depletion of natural resources, as well as natural disasters take the headlines of almost every newspaper. People are suffering from the Fukushima nuclear plant incident, the earthquake at Sichuan left many victims killed or severely injured, forest fires in Sumatra, Indonesia caused a haze which brought visibility levels to below 5......

We have been polluting the environment and draining the Earth of its resources ever since the industrial revolution and four hundred years later, Mother Nature decided to retaliate. An eye for an eye, she made us pay for what we have done. World leaders reacted by having conferences to address such as issue, attempting to cut down on our energy and resource consumption.

However, I strongly feel that we, being more superior, ought not to give in to the forces of Nature. We should, instead, squeeze the Earth of every drop of oil, and win the war against Nature.

Furthermore, it has been predicted that by the year 2012, the world would eventually come to an end. Therefore, we should try our best to make full use of what the Earth has to offer before 2012. Turn on the air-conditioner twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to combat Global Warming; Set trees and gardens on fire and enjoy the haze display at your door-step; Use as many pieces of paper as you want to for the trees would be gone to waste when 2012 arrives. The Earth and nature is made for us and we have every right to exploit everything they have to offer.

This is our world to play and manipulate. Mother Nature has no authority to punish us for we have done no wrong. In fact, we have given Earth a whole new life of sophistication and civilization. As fellow human beings, we ought to be proud of ourselves, for we were the only living beings who truely left a mark in Earth's history.

Now come our final year of 2012. We should make full use of the Earth's resources this last year and live life to the fullest without worrying about the depletion of resources, pollution or natural disasters (unless you are one of the victims).

I urge you to take this letter seriouly and contribute to making history.

Regards,

xxxxxx

***Impt note: this is a SATIRE, it is meant to be sarcastic. So do NOT on your air-con 24-7 or any waste resources. It's the last thing that the world needs...

Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve :)

It's 7:30am, and it's the last week of the June hols!

Everyone's asleep,

while Wei Peng (friend :D), her dad and I made a trip down to Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve.

Saw quite a few birds and other animals, but I wasn't able to capture them as they were too far for my ordinary camera to catch...T.T

Sigh...if only I had a dxlr......

Anyway, here are some photos I took:

seemed too perfect to be true; the trees 'trimed' to enclose this pictureque scene.
if only I could live in that house across the lake, and be greeted by cicadas every morning...

shadows of tree vines; the mangrove trees are planted rather close together...

Thought this was quite a cool sequence of photos showing the spider catch it's prey...

Spider web hanging in mid-air. morning sunlight shines through, reflected off the web...vola, a pretty clear web among the tree branches. Like a thumbprint of spun by the spider to mark its territory.

Personally, I love this photo the most <3 depicts the tracks of the kodomo dragon (the long continuous tracks across the mud) if you're wondering, the other small tracks dotted all over the mud belongs to tiny crabs. Lovely :)

 

more tracks... (a creature with a tail)
[**pls comment if you know which animal made this]

Sunlight and shadows on the tree trunks balances rather well with each other:)
The green leaves around the tree creates a very 'close-to-nature' environment. Then again, nothing beats heading down to experience nature yourself!

the gradual disappearance of the ariel roots into the distance. cool...

The only lucky fella who was close enough to be captured on my camera. This friendly guy was lazing in the sun, sun-bathing. Didn't notice me standing behind I suppose.

Close-up of wild berries of some random tree...

Yup, the mud was 'infested' with protrusions of aerial roots of the mangrove trees. It was great knowing that we won't have to head down that path and suffer the poking of the roots and the gooey mud...
But come to think about it again...
it would be fun sinking into the goo, wouldn't it?

Not a very clear photo, but look closely and you will be able to spot the mudskipping lying on a rock. 

cute:)))

 

found this log very interesting, with holes and stuff.

will be heading down to pulau semakau in August...

at 5am in the morning to catch the low tide...

can't wait :DD

will borrow a camera from the aesthetics department this time...

Coursework (in progress) ;D

Tracing my progress on the 1.5m x 2.4m canvas...

Day 1:

Day 2:

Day 3:

Day 4:

Day 5:

Day 6:

Work in detail:

1. Really thick paint: when I say really thick paint, I mean really thick paint -> I've already used up 3 tubes of oil paint...and it's not done yet...(sry peeps who don't have paint to use...) :P
2. Straight from the paint tubes -> no turpentine or thinner, fresh paint on canvas --- impasto
3. Just slab on e paint :D : had the orignal photo beside me, but I didn't really refer to it, just went along with my instincts. While some browns were mixed on the palette, most were mixed directly on the canvas.

1+2+3 = FUN :DD

once I stayed in the art room from morning (~9:30am) to late afternoon (~5pm),

survived solely on breakfast [and painting]

didn't realise the time until I looked up from the canvas and saw the clock,

That was when my stomach (which was strangely quiet the whole day),

started growling like crazy and I had to stop...

Painting is addictive <3