Haulage aid
May 23rd, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I’m excited to learn that word is spreading about the Lost arts of The Republic of Singapore exhibition that will be presented at Pop-up Singapore house in September here in London. Thanks to Geraldene and to all the people she contacted in goodwill! I am at the moment still on the lookout for haulage sponsors for transporting the objects to and fro. Some confirmed objects which the craftsmen have kindly agreed to contribute are:
1. 3 big chinese hand-painted lanterns
2. 1 dragon head(1 to 2m)
3. A number of small chinese lanterns(20″ x 15″)
4. Medium sized joss sticks(25″ x 6″)
5. Woodclay sculpture figurines (7″ x 5″)
6. Tapestries
If anyone has contacts with haulage companies, please send me an email on how I may contact the person-in-charge. Thanks very much! In the midst of preparation and we are full steam ahead!
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2012 news
May 17th, 2012 Comments Off
Article published in The design society journal 2012. A big thank you to Justin Zhuang, editor of TDSJ, Jesvin Yeo, my collaborator on this project, and photographer Kang Li!
Currently preparing to bring this project to London, for an exhibition titled Lost arts of The Republic of Singapore in September as part of Pop-up Singapore House, in conjunction with London design festival 2012. All updates shall be here!
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Weeks past time flies away
May 5th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
The best way to describe the past few weeks is that I’ve been working every weekday. And thus this very late post will be… a slideshow of nice pictures I’ve been inspired by, surrounded by, pushed into my face by etc. etc.
(can’t think of anything else to write honestly)
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Then there’s nothing to it but to do it
April 13th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
As an artist I believe in free will–but I also believe in preparatory exercises. Whether a series of exploratory roughs, comps, a-painting-a-day, or thumbnails before a more ambitious project, sketches pave the way to professionalism. Here’s a reminder of what sketches can do for you:
+ Make your mistakes smaller, not larger.
+ By including “notan” sketches (simple black and white patterns) you learn to find better compositions.
+ Discover the best angles, aspects and forms of a subject.
+ Learn to work fresher and looser so you’ll have less investment and obligation.
+ Ask yourself, “What could be?” and have more fun wherever you go.
+ Make more sense of your visual world and its manifestation in your art. Preparatory sketches help you understand what you are trying to do while helping you to feel less precious about your work.
Life is an exercise, but it’s not a rehearsal. Many artists find that the sketch stage is just as vital and rewarding as themagnum opus that comes later. Sketches, to the dismay of many artists, may even be superior in quality. Particularly in rough form, it’s important to cave in to your most expedient inclinations, happiest pathways and most endearing sensibilities. “Preparation does not take away any of the enthusiasm of the final painting. In fact, the preliminaries in color and tonal studies free up the artist for an unbridled yet focused trip to the finish.
– excerpt from Robert Genn Twice-Weekly Letter April 13 2012
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more black
April 10th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
The act of waving
March 23rd, 2012 Comments Off
Early portrait photography did not approve of any kind of physical display on the part of the sitters. At best, discreet hand gestures were permitted. In this respect, the daguerreotype from around 1840 displayed in Thorvaldsen Museum Copenhagen has become a famous exception. It shows sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen who during the exposure made a gesture with his left hand, supposedly to ward off the evil eye.
As a rule, the first people to have their photographs taken sat motionless, patiently following the photographer’s instruction and then waited excitedly for the resulting image. Soon, photographer’s studios took on the character of salons, a certain refinement became the norm, dictating the behavior of the visitors. There was no waving, no rabbit ears, no messing about in front of the camera,. Photographs were expensive and any physical activity would have caused blurring, undesirable both to the photographer, who wanted to supply high quality works and collect his fee, and to those portrayed, who wished to take home likenesses that were as true to life as possible, or better than real life.
The amateur photographs taken later by snapshooters, due to the mobility of the apparatuses, the growing technical precision of the exposure time and fine-tuning of the chemicals, which made it possible to record an image within seconds, paved the way for the varied use of photography and allowed a certain freedom of behavior in front of the camera. Waving can be considered one such freedom.
Waving is the visual expression of the joy of meeting again, a greeting, or when combined with the wafting of a handkerchief, the sorrow of parting. Waving can be highly expressive, making extensive use of the body rather than just the arm. At the same time, it can be hidden or tentative, subtle and delicate, and is a complex, reserved gesture when compared to hugging or direct physical contact.
The German born artist Sigune Hamann has been collecting and making still and moving images of waving figures over the last four years. She started with a collection of 1950s photographs of Berliners waving to relatives across the newly-erected Berlin wall, a practice soon declared illegal by the East German authorities. Since any kind of greeting was against the law and one was always in danger of being deported within East Germany, the inhabitants had the ingenious idea of cleaning their windows extensively, using large expansive movements. This was understood by those on the other side and united the people of the two towns. Waving reveals an intriguing and multifaceted code of visual communication that deserves to be further examined.
– excerpt from Hello and Goodbye! Photography and the wave by Bodo von Dewitz
Sigune Hamann: Wave
28/02/12–23/03/12
Wellcome Collection, London
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Inspiration slideshow yes!
March 15th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
I enjoy putting different images together and seeing them consequently. Call it collected inspiration aye aye!
Images this time include some banners I designed for a Vietnamese street food company, Pao drawings from last year’s Utopia exhibition, beautiful Japanese houses, a snapshot of a man from a Taiwanese indie short film, Hokusai Manga and more.
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Type type type!!
March 12th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Recent work for Banhmi11, a Vietnamese street food company. I’m most satisfied with this press board, amongst the other collaterals I worked on, considering the short amount of time I had to work.
Check Banhmi11 out here
