An introspective view on the various relationships observed in society, the works in Relationships: Proximities and Distances shed light on some of the questions surrounding these relationships. Some others are more of a study; showcasing their ‘findings’ from having observed various people groups, and even mimicking the various attributes of those they have a relationship with in hopes of offering a meaningful experience to all visitors of the exhibition.
Memories | Angie Dai Huiling
Wonders of Her World | Hew Soo Hun
囍 | Ivan David Ng, Tan Yu Shi
Untitled (double rainbow) | Rebecca Wang
Accelerated Intimacy | Sarah Choo Jing
Sarah Choo Jing, in an Art Radar (2017) interview, revealed her interest in issues of isolation, alienation and marginalisation in modern society:
“I have been fascinated with the relationships or lack thereof, between people, and the potential narratives that occur in the everyday.”
Trained as a painter, Sarah took to photography as an extension of her art practice. Through the photographic media, she explores human interactions and connections through highly staged and deliberated scenes where people and everyday objects are recurring motifs.
In aedge 2018 we can come to understand her thought process through her “drawing board” where, by eliminating unnecessary motifs and objects, she frames and draws attention to her protagonist singularly within a created space.
We can also observe the element of play in Wonders of Her World by Hew Soo Hun.
The focus of her practice, however, lies in her relationship with her three-year-old child. Observing, discovering and reflecting are key acts that form her work processes as she
seeks proximity and understanding of her daughter’s world. In Wonders, she attempts to re-create the innocence, naivety and uninhibitedness of a child’s world through sculptural works that she terms as “illustration pieces”. Her intention of igniting the child-like sensibility of her audience informs the way she wants to display her work.
“In our life as an educator, there are many cherished memories. They bring on tears, laughter or precious lessons learnt. Such memories are an integral part of the satisfaction we derive from teaching.”
Each memory she collected, whether good or bad, is precious and personal and creates a certain bond between her and the giver. In encapsulating her reflections of these memories in a bottle, she wants to preserve them and perhaps for some, to seal them away.
Each bottle points to the individuality of each memory giver, but by using the same type of containers, the artist wishes for their oneness as a cohesive whole to give comfort and assurance that we are not alone.
The collaborative work by Ivan David Ng, Tan Yu Shi and their respective spouses, 囍 (Double Happiness), is about negotiating boundaries of understanding in a cross-cultural marriage. Both artists were recently married; one to an American while the other, to a Singaporean of Taiwanese descent.
As a performative piece, they and their spouses came together to produce an artwork. Responding to each other and working out their differences, they aim to seek common grounds in resolving tensions and through improvisation, to create a work that best symbolises their union.
FEATURED WORK
Throughout the two weeks of the exhibition, interviews with 6 selected artists will be posted here. Stay tuned!
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