Tham Yoke Theng // Lesson Idea

Name of artist: Tham Yoke Teng

School: Hong Kah Secondary School

Lesson idea

Theme: Map/ Everyday

This lesson unit is suitable for Secondary Three students. It could take up to a term for the students to thoroughly explore ideas, materials and complete a final art work.

The theme of Maps/Everyday can be used to direct students to look closely at the banality of their everyday to find routines, patterns and systems they had never noticed before. The art task should encourage students to produce a final work that forms a series, document a process or journey, or build a collection. They key is to guide students into experimenting with different processes and materials before executing a final product.

Objectives/instruction

Students will:

• Respond to works of local photographers on Instagram by comparing and contrasting to highlight Principles of Design: Leslie Heng @blackmobil, Darren Soh @darrensohphoto, Lee Yik Keat @leeyikkeat and Chia Aik Beng @aikbengchia
• Document a part of their everyday using photographs, e.g.: a daily routine, a significant place, trace their steps for a day, a recurring object or shape.
• Collect or take photos of physical maps around Singapore
• Explore ways of laying out their photo series in the form of a map by collaging their photographs
• Dispel their traditional notions of maps by researching on artists that are inspired by or have transformed or created maps, artists that have used google map or google earth as part of their art.
• Focus on a single photograph or object from their photo series:
  • Conduct a class exquisite corpse activity to decontextualize and explore other ideas from the work
  • Create a zine by interviewing the photograph or object to form a narrative
  • Draw or construct a topographical map of  the object or space
  • Create a mind map to move from concrete to abstract
• Experiment with ceramics, sculpture, paper cut, linocut, mixed media collages, illustration, etc. for their final work.