Happy World - Ik-Joong Kang (2008)

Mixed media on wood, 485 x 485cm

Happy World: 48 x 48 pieces of 3" x 3" glazed wooden tiles with either paint on them or objects stuck to it. The objects included toys like "beyblades", rubber ducks, yo-yos, guns and trucks. There were also pieces of mirrors, calculators, baseballs, can openers, spoons and even an old Canon camera. I liked the Canon camera, particularly. It was the only camera stuck onto the wooden tiles.

The artwork was named "Happy World". I thought that every day objects stuck onto the tiles looked interesting and fun. Toys, utensils, things that we would use everyday. Happy World shows everyday and simple objects. Most of them were toys that we or the previous generation tend to play when we were young. Hence, these objects give the artwork a happy feeling, making us remebmber the happy times during our childhood.

The artwork is filled with colours, yet, they are not clashing. Therefore, it does not spoil the artwork. Also, this artwork probably wants to tell us that simplicity can also bring happiness to one, and that we should be contented but not be greedy instead.

I really liked how Kang placed all the colourful objects together, without letting the colours clash and making the artwork look messy. I was awed as I knew it would take much patience and effort to stick every object onto the tiles or paint them. I was amazed by the number of tiles stuck on the wall, forming a huge piece of artwork on the wall, made by small ones.

I like this work as I think it brings happy memories to everyone who sees it, including myself.

Photo credits:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vilseskogen/

Singapore Biennale 2008

Who is Family - Rachel Goh (2008)

Installation

Video & Photography

When I first set my eyes on the family portrait of the artist's family, I got fascinated.

A family of five, looking happy, smiling brightly into the camera. They all looked close to one another and the daughter had her arms placed over her father and mother. They looked happy to be with one another, taking a photograph. As I continued looking through the other family portraits, I giggled.

The family members had swapped positions and clothes in a clockwise manner and got a set of five new family portrait taken.

The artist of the installation, Rachel Goh, is a Singaporean who has been working in advertising as a copywriter for ten years, had completed a foundation year at the Chelsea College of Art in London. That was all that she and her family could afford for her art education. A valuable lesson that she learnt at art school was the practice of documenting the making of an artwork. It is from this practice that Goh has produced a rather remarkable video as part of the work, which is being shown in the Singapore Biennale 2008.

The full work consists of six photographic family portraits and a video. Goh decided to reconnect with her two siblings and parents especially her father, by proposing that the family re-enact the poses, and demeanor of a family photograph taken twelve years ago that has been placed in Goh's home, above the television, for a long period of time. They swapped positions and clothes in a clockwise manner and had a set of five new family portraits taken. She placed a video camera at the shooting corner, and took down everything they did during the shoot. She also commissioned the same photographer who took the original photograph to shoot the new portraits.

Whenever Goh visited home, she'd stare at the family portrait, and find it unnerving. She always wondered if they could ever capture that kind of intimacy seen in the photograph, and that if they ever had that kind of intimacy between themselves.

She has mentioned before that, for her family to accept the fact that she has to leave for London to study art, is really hard. Her parents, especially her father, had his misgivings. Therefore, when she returned to Singapore, she had a lot of mixed feelings. She was glad but wondered how her parents would see her when she felt like a new person. Then, she thought that it might be a good time to take another family portrait as a way of marking a new chapter. She tracked the photographer who had taken that original family portrait for them and found out that he was still in the same place, same little studio.

They took another portrait. And Goh insisted in taking more portraits in the same pose, but different people doing it. She left the video camera in a corner, running, to record everything, and the work came out.

Personally, I feel that Goh has definitely learned that she had to improve her relationship between her family members. This has also made me feel that I should cherish my family members more and learn to appreciate them. She believed that her family only agreed to take the portraits that way out of respect for a newly returned 'artistic' daughter. Despite that, it showed support in one way or another towards their daughter or sister. They must have been really proud to see Goh's public exhibition of her work. The family portraits have shown that they are still close to one another as they are a family.

Photo credits:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/teohyc/3023996429/in/photostream/

Singapore Biennale 2008

Beauty and the Beast - Layla Juma A. Rashid (2006)

Chewing-gum sculptures, photographs

"Wow, what's that?" everyone said in awe as they entered the rooms seeing images of light grey-ish sculptures on the wall.

I wondered what materials they were made from and thought that they looked interesting. So when we continued to the last room, everyone went, "Yuck!" There it was, one of the original sculpture stored in a glass case. Chewing gum!

Gum turns into a very flexible and primitive material, like clay with oil, when chewed and softened. Chewing gum is usually considered useless and discarded after being chewed. However, Rashid has transformed chewing gum into something of value through her means of artistic expression, knowing its property. Rashid talks about her work "Create a sculpture with many effects having different visual interpretations such as the characters of stories like 'Beauty and the Beast' or vague features of hidden or anonymous people or any other visual interpretation by the viewer. I therefore have transformed chewing gum from a useless object (discarded after using) to a useful object that serves my artistic ends."

Rashid presents chewing gum in a new way. Every different chewing gum sculpture she made, tels a unique and special story, depending on how different people interpret it. This is just like different faces you would meet on the streets. She sees a persoa in each sculpture, from fictitious characters to anonymous people.

Rashid is an artist who can carve out an original world with innovative and abstract ideas. She has given the people who have seen her artwork to interpret the artwork themselves. Therefore, different people would have different interpretations.

I feel that the chewing gum sculptures are like different young people, having different lives, different dreams and different paths. They look very different with different patterns and shapes. Yet, they were made from the same thing, chewing gum.

Not only that, the installation is characterized by a high contrast in proportions and in perception. The pictures of the chewing gum sculptures are enlarged, hanging on the walls, whereas the sculpture is small, exhibited in a glass box. Looking at the enlarged pictures would enable the viewers to see more details of the sculpture.

I like this installation as it tells me that everyone should do what they want to, and that is unique. Different people would have different personalities, characteristics and what we do or achieve is up to us, making us unique and special individuals.

Photo credits:

http://www.hangar.org/gallery/v/album02/album27/album607/beauty_beast.jpg.html