SINGAPORE BIENNALE 2008 (PART 02):

The first piece of art as we reached the second layer of the exhibition was "D.84 & D.85, Little Guilin (Bukit Batok Town Park) Singapore, 2008" by Gary Carlsey. I don't understand this artwork at all, but it's stated that Carlsey has from a range of photographs taken of Singapore's Little Guilin Park in Bukit Gombak (itself a copy of the real Guilin in China, & representative of 'Chinese-ness' in Singapore) and Jurong's Chinese Garden, selected images & re-rendered them in faux wood-grain. These images were then creatively applied to selected IKEA furniture. The surface representation, identity of the nation & self, interiorly & exteriorly, become sources for the creation & reading of the work... (Still understand crap out of it...)

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"D.84, D.85, Little Guilin (Bukit Batok Town Park)" - Gary Carlsey

Next, an INTERESTING artwork by E Chen... "Tropicana" is the name of the piece. Sculptures made of woollen yarn. The yarn is elaborately woven to take the shape of a scooter & a lamppost with ivy growing around it. flower petals littered all over the floor. I was so tempted to "steal" one of the flowers but there was one of the staff keeping a look-out at the art piece, whom made it hard for me to do anything. Anyway, back to the artwork, the thought of using yarn - something so flexible, expandable & even soft & ephemeral - are qualities that contradict against many traditional notions of sculpture...

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Another thing I found out later was that the tips of the yarn are actually hooked to, & pulled by, a motor on the ceiling & very slowly wound up so that the sculptures are gradually unravelled. So by the end of the exhibition the artwork will have disappeared~! Now, although it is said that art is immortal, but in fact nothing is permanent, & that idea is symbolically proved in this installation. Cool eh... (I think so)

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"Tropicana" - E Chen

In the room next door, a set of photography work shown, the "Altitude series" & "Infinite Island series" (2003 -2006) by Ryuro Fukuda. Both series are digitally manipulated photographs. "Infinite Island" depicts an imaginary, paradise-like view pools of water on an island in the middle of an ocean. A closer look at the image shows that the island is surrounded by craggy cliffs, making it seem as if access to it would be very difficult. If you could get there however, this would be an idyllic place where anyone would want to spend some time.

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In "Altitude", images of an unmanned balloon & para glider floating in the stratosphere at an altitude of 10,000 metres, which in reality is a height that no balloon or human can possibly fly in, are shown.

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"Altitude" & "Infinite Island" series - Ryuro Fukuda

Next up is a 3-framed video art piece. There are three frames projected onto with the videos, in a dark enclosed room by itself. Beautifully named "El naufragio de los hombres (The wreck of men)" by Charly Nijensohn, the artwork is a video work that was filmed earlier this year during the rainy season in the salt desert of Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, a vast landscape 13,000 feet above sea level & thought to contain 10 billion tonnes of salt. When the area is covered in water, as it was when Nijensohn went there, the sky meets an almost perfect reflection of itself creating an extraordinary mirrored horizon. The artist worked with the Aymara community of the village of Colchani, whose lifestyles were threatened by poverty. They were featured in the video as images of lonely figures standing unmoving amidst small groupings of rocks.

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"El naufragio de los hombres (The wreck of men), 2008" - Charly Nijensohn

Sometimes they are alone in the frame. Sometimes there are several figures placed closer to or far away from the camera, emphasising distance & location. The soundtrack played in the background is eerily natural (it scared the shit out of Charmaine), the sound of wind sweeping through the great space, the wet flutter of rain hitting the lens. It sounded as if we were right there on spot... The figures are marked by their lack of movement, their stillness becomes more of a gesture of defiance than of passivity in the face of their stark surroundings, & the reflection of the sky makes them appear to be floating amongst the clouds, as if bravely becoming mythical beings. Nijensohn is fully aware of the metaphysical poetics that his imagery suggests: "Exposed to the erosion of time, they vanish into the emptiness. In silence & isolation, they are testimony of an existence which, in disappearing, becomes a declaration of principles."

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The next piece is one of Charmaine's favourite pieces - "The Yellow Mountain" by Su-Mei-Tse. In a dark room, projected onto a screen, this is once again a video piece, in which a huge yellow 'sun' appears from behind a mountain range in what looks like a traditional Chinese-style ink painted landscape. Seemingly a portrayal of a sunrise at first, it starts to morph into something totally unrelated. It is a humorous piece that disrupts one's expectations & by doing so, the artist hopes to provoke us to think again about our stereotypical view of Oriental paintings & the way in which we look at the world in general.

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"The Yellow Mountain" - Su-Mei-Tse

Then we moved on & viewed these exhibited pieces by Desiree Dolron, "Xteriors I, II, IV, VIII". These photographs were excellently taken, if you ask me. The detail, the look in the models' eyes... the photographs actually look like oil paintings. The rest are some other less interesting pieces we saw...

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"Xteriors I, II, IV & VIII" - Desire Dolron

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"Piano" & the "Canary" series - Lieko Shiga

The next piece is a very 'cute' family photograph, which is also an exhibited piece. Named "Who is this Family" by Rachel Goh (Singaporean), the artwork consisted of five family photos. The photos are from the same family. The 'cute' part of it or rather interesting part is that in the photos, though the family members remain the same. They interchange their positions/roles & clothings based on the family member they're 'supposed to be'... Don't understand what I'm saying? Take a look yourself. At the end, a video of the family going through the actual photo shoot & changing of clothes is shown too.

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"Who is this Family" - Rachel Goh

The next room we came to shortly, was my favourite work of the whole exhibition. The only one that had me mesmerized the whole evening! "Blackfield" by Zadok Ben-David... A truly work of art! When we first entered the hall, the floor was seemingly filled with thousands of small, wispy metallic plants emanating from a rectangle field of white sand. The 'plants' which are etched out of metal, come from botanical drawings & are painted black. Immediately I was astounded by the amount of hard work put into arranging these 'plants' standing up in their rows... & the detail each 'plant' had. Then as we observed the pieces, we move forward. Then as I turned my head around, what I saw just took my breath away. The previously black 'plants' have in that instance ALL TURNED INTO A MYRIAD OF RADIATING COLOURS!

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It was then that I realized that all the plants are installed with the coloured side facing one end & black facing the other. Thus when a visitor encounters the installation from one end, they will either see a sea of coloured or black plants. The side with colour is extraordinarily cheerful, while the black is stark, very much like a scorched landscape against an almost pure white background of fine sand. Both, however, are beautiful to behold. The experience on seeing the black change into colour, or vice versa, row by row, is truly mesmerizing. Coming up close to the plants reveals their extremely intricate structure & patterning. As the change in colours happens as one shifts one's point of view, the macro & micro views of the installation also present a change in perspective. Hence it is not only the physical thing of the installation that matters but one's relationship to it.

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"Blackfield" - Zadok Ben-David

The next piece was by Yuan Goang-Ming, called "Disappearing Landscape - Passing". This is a three channel video installation. In it, scenes, one after another are shown. A pleasant normal day for a family - two abandoned buildings in which family get-togethers of the past could be imagined; views from a car as the artist drove between his home in Danshui & Taipei; & a nearby woods. These images are shot by three cameras that relentlessly progress forward as if to move through all obstacles. The artist suggests a sense of transience in relation to the rise & fall of human life. To me, however, it's like looking at things from different perspective.

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"Disappearing Landscape - Passing" - Yuan Goang-Ming

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"Serigala Militia" - Tromarama

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"Think of One Thing" - Mariele Neudecker

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"Operation Supermarket" - Farhad Moshiri & Shirin Aliabadi
(Pay attention to the labeling/ words on the 'products')


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"Teratoma II: Digmaan ng mga Mundo (Teratoma II: War of the Worlds)"
- Leeroy New

That's all, folks. A truly wonderful experience... Remember to make your way down to Singapore Biennale 2008 if you have the time, the chance... Enjoy. =]

SINGAPORE BIENNALE 2008 (PART 01)

Looking for any cool spots to bring your girl to this October? Check out the Singapore Biennale... an international contemporary visual arts exhibition organised by the National Arts Council, Singapore. And both of us (Charmaine & I) being art lovers, just couldn't miss this chance to view the artworks, & date at the same time. =P

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We met up after her training, & coincidentally bumped into Anli & Melissa @ City Link. We bought some Subway cookies & headed over to one of the exhibition sites @ City Hall (the other @ South Beach Development). On our way walking to City Hall, we saw one of the public artworks located outside Raffles City. It appears that various public artworks were also scattered around Raffles City, Esplanade Bridge, Suntec City, Clifford Pier, Central Promontory Site & Singapore Flyer. We saw another piece of such artwork the night before, located under the Esplanade Bridge, where I met up with Charmaine & sent her home, on my way back home from NTU.

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The public artwork we saw under the bridge was "Lightlines" by Hans Peter Kuhn. There were six 50m long rods of light, each looking like an enormous neon strip under the moonlight. In my opinion, it wasn't as impressive as it sounded to me. Alright but not fantastic. Take a look yourself.

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The other public artwork I mentioned outside Raffles City, named "Fantasmas" (Phantoms), was by Issac Montoya. The image is a rainbow-coloured portrait of a young woman, hair seemingly in dread locks, with her mouth open. But looking through two coloured screen booths nearby (one red, the other blue), the image completely changes. See for yourself.

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Arriving @ City Hall, we bumped into JunXiong & his girlfriend, walking alongside City Hall. We exchanged a few words & a few glances as he saw Charmaine with me. Before we continued into the building, it occurred to me that the exterior of the City Hall looked really nice with the huge stairs in front of the building, the tall majestic pillars, all that 18th century British colonial architecture & stuffs. Anyway I bought my ticket at the counter for only $5 (student price), while Charmaine just flashed her complementary ticket without paying anything. We also each received a Biennale guidebook which showed every artwork exhibited throughout the island.

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The first artwork we saw is "Maggots" by Ngoc Duong Pham, which I thought was kinda cute but disgusting at the same time. However the next piece was more interesting, and it had an very interesting concept which got everybody involved. It's called "Singapore" by Wit Pimkanchanapong. He has recreated a Google Earth image-map of Singapore covering the whole floor of the Chamber room in City Hall. Stickers or tags were provided, whereby visitors may tag their messages onto the map. Much like tagging information or messages on virtual maps, except this is done in the real, physical world, with the interaction between real people as they witness themselves performing the tagging.

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Just take a look at the floor - so many tags on the map!
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Look! Somebody tagged a message to my dragonboat coach Ah Hee too, "I LOVE AH HEE". The picture in the center is where we trained for dragonboat at Kallang. And lastly that's me trying to find where both Charmaine & I are staying.

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We finally found where we stayed. The first picture reveals where Charmaine lives, but I'm gonna keep it a secret =P. That's Serangoon Garden & Chomp Chomp in the center picture. And that's my home in Potong Pasir in the last picture, but some bugger already stuck a tag over my place so you can't see it.

And then there's even the map of Pulau Tekong, BMTC. I was totally escalated when I saw it on the map, cuz it brought back so many memories when I was in BMTC as a recruit & then, as a officer (instructor). I wanted to show Charmaine the location of Jaguar Coy, the company where I held my instructor role but once again, some bugger already pasted a tag over it & we can't see it anymore. This was the artwork that we spent the most time on, before moving on to others.

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Next we went upstairs where more artworks are located. At the staircase, there was a painting "Raw Canvas" by Jane Lee, on the wall. The Singaporean artist used thick swathes of paint to create an impression of woven fabric. Fabric covers & reveals; it shapes us. It can tell stories about the person, or hide them at the same time. Lee's 3D painting appears to drip with its grooves & folds making every obsessive wrinkle available for our inspection. It is like a cloth that speaks or keeps its secret.

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That's all for now... I shall leave the rest of the Biennale Tour @ City Hall to another post, cuz there's simply too many pictures/artworks to cover in one entry. Till then... Stay healthy & cheers, people! =]

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Exhibition Dates:
- 11 September to 16 November 2008

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Exhibition Hours:
- Tuesdays to Sundays, from 11am to 8pm
- Closed on Mondays

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Admission:
- Single Entry Pass: $10
- Each entry pass includes a one-time entry to City Hall & South Beach Development
- Entry to all other venues is complementary except the Singapore Flyer
- 30% discount for all PAssion Card holders
- 50% discount for Senior Citizens (60 & above) & students with valid ID

TOUGH TIMES DON'T LAST, TOUGH MEN DO:

See this picture? That was like my nose all through Tuesday night and Wednesday... Just visualize it with a loose tap, a lot more flow, and a whole lot less gracefulness. Well, maybe also a lot more mess, judging from the mountain of tissue papers piling up in the rubbish bin and a whole lot of disturbing noises (like when you blow into a tissue).

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My whole point is that it was hell going through all these AGAIN (yeah, it happened once before, crap~), while studying for another major 4AU quiz on Thursday. Going through all the online lectures (I counted - 15 of them)... It's like a movie marathon or something, minus the 'fun' part. And it's harder to concentrate on them especially when you're not feeling well. I got only in-between naps, & not 7-8 hours sleep during these tough times. I think it's getting far too damaging for me (at this age). =P Late nights, insufficient rest, pushing your body to its limit...

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The quiz is finally over, I can't say I fared well for it, I dunno. I just dunno... But at least now, it's over and I can really get some good rest now. I'm feeling all exhausted & drained now, from the stomach flu, to the cold & sore throat all in a short span of 5 days (Sunday till Thursday). My friends analyzed it for me, they say it's due to my late nights that my stomach produces more acid - which led to the stomach flu & cramps, after extended period of times. And that lowered my immune system. Coupled with the stress of one more quiz, lack of healthy food when you're staying in hall & even more lack of rest/sleep, the cold & sore throat decided to kick in & join in the fun.
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I used to do this all the time. But now, my body doesn't seem to be coping quite well with my usual way of doing things. So now, I've decided to lead a Healthy Lifestyle~! Well, at least try to... Sufficient rest, exercise, essential nutrition from my diet, more studies & less crap. Haha...
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Oh yeah, regarding the driving after my quiz on Thursday, it went pretty well. The lesson whereby I made the least mistakes, & had my smoothest drive. Initially I thought I'll be too darn tired to concentrate on the wheels, but that was totally opposite to my case. The footwork was fine. The changing of gears was fine. The control of the steering was fine. The picking up & slowing down of speed was fine too. Of course, there are still some minor hiccups... but that's all fine. It went well. Guess when you're not so tensed over something, you might even perform better. =]
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Things coming up:
10th Oct - HW310 Presentation
13th Oct - MS4525 Materials & Energy Quiz 2
28th Oct - MS4523 Polymer Synthesis Quiz 2

30th Oct - MS4520 Polymer Technology Quiz 2
07th Nov - Driving Test
Ongoing - FYP
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Gentlemen, the tough times are now. They're not over yet. Focus, focus, focus~!!!

LYRICS:
She likes me for me
Not because...
...
...
She's the one for me
And I just can't live without her
My arms belong around her
And I'm so glad I found her once again
And I'm so glad I found her once again
Yeah, I'm so glad I found her once again.
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We managed to find this 'old song' that we both found familiar.

Even though, I gave her all the wrong words to the lyrics... ={
We got something telepathic going on, I must say... =P
Now I'm addicted to this song.
As long as we are together, I believe there's nothing we can't do...
I believe my arms belong around her ♥...
Even seeing her face online on web cam lightens up my weakened spirits. =]
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Word of Advice:
Always find someone who loves you for who you are
And love someone for who he/she is.
Never try to change someone, & don't try to be someone different.
You will soon realise that it's far too taxing to hold up that facade. You won't be happy.
It never works out, & the repercussion can be damagingly deadly.
When that happens, things are gonna fall apart anyway... sooner or later.
Having said that, to love someone for who he/she is, & for that someone to love you for who you are.
You need to get to know that someone well enough, & let that someone know you well too.
And that takes time & effort on both your part.

(I'm glad I found that someone, who I can be comfortable with)
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Rule of the thumb: "Rome wasn't built in one day".
Let things flow...