Paradox

Upon receiving the brief, I wanted to play around with the notions of juxtaposition and create the concept of contradiction and paradox through an autobiographical process.


After the second critique session, I felt that the outcome was not well received. In general, many were confused with the outcome and the overall direction was different in comparison to the rest of my classmates.

Hence, I wanted to use this platform to elaborate on the concept as my body work has evolved more towards the conceptual and my classmates have become more aware of the thought process behind my body of work.

I am interested in the unthematic elements of a paradox. In the most simplest terms, we can view the paradox through the means of a binary. The idea of Black vs White, 0 vs 1 and two opposing elements. In short, the paradox exists to deny the first proposition and yet create truth within it. Still, it reveals the coexistence of two opposing views that is neither false nor true.

My work considers to challenge the element of juxtaposition through an unthematic manner. These are snippets of my life and excerpts are more often than not; incomplete. Like a torn page from a book – you are thrown into a world with no form of context. What you see does not make any sense and yet, you carry that sense of curiosity to know more. But what if you only get to view an excerpt from the page? Stuck between curiosity and disappointment, you then experience the sense of nowness – of the past and yet it is of the present. Of how you currently feel against moments of an emotional past. Would we then be able to fathom this degree of complexity, of this nostalgia of the past mixed into the present?

The juxtapositions are of contrasting elements. These are snapshots of a past life presented in the future. Different types of photographic genres coexist on a plane but I insist it is at its very essence, diaristic and simply snapshots. Each image should not be blatantly contrasting – which would elucidate a simple idea of the binary. No, these images lie within the grey areas. The in-betweens, the feeling of uncertainty; torn between love and hate and when you straddle between the idea of life and death. The most bleak thing I could image is how we live to die.

The snapshots too, create the element of paradox, the idea that these could be your friends and life and yet, you struggle to comprehend the meaning of these images. If each is of his own, then your life is different than mine.

Furthermore, the polaroid placement emulates the awkwardness of grey areas. It’s placement is odd further highlights that sense of awkwardness when attempting to unravel the idea of a paradox. .

The challenge the locality of these images, the polaroids are in a state of non-distinction. A distinctively ‘local’ images of friends and me yet possessing the sense of uncertainty.  It straddles with the notion of the unthematic.

This sense of uncertainty merges with the layering of the images, to visualise the logical incoherence, a visual mess; almost akin to paradoxical feelings.

excerpts from my visual notebook

 

 

Evocative Objects

For this project, we had proceeded with Desmond’s proposal – to raise awareness regarding anorexia.

The concept was born out of a fascination with the BMI machine located near the lounge. The initial proposal was to create an arts installation with a concept focused towards the idea of social circles and how they affect our body image.

However, after further consultations with Michael, we decided to go with a more focused approach – narrowing it towards raising awareness for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

Doctors say those suffering from anorexia have the highest mortality rate among all psychiatric conditions. They could be so malnourished that their hearts may stop suddenly or their kidneys could fail. Or they could be so depressed, they could take their own lives.

Worldwide, studies have found that between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of those with anorexia that is not treated may die.

Hence, we felt that there was a need to create an installation artwork that would try and focus on raising awareness for anorexia.

A concept based drawing of our installation

As the viewer steps into this enclosed space, they would be encouraged to step onto one LED colored step. Upon stepping on it, there will be a synchronised flickering of another screen, i.e. activating the red tile will activate another red tile. Afterwards, the walls of the room, fitted with a wide, led display will show a visual playback of various sounds commenting on issues regarding your weight.

These videos and sounds are mean’t to mimic your the voices of your own social circle. Voices from your friends and family.

As the room is enclosed and the artwork itself encouraging the interaction of multiple viewers, the activation of various tiles will create the layering of sounds as multiple videos are being played. In tandem with the enclosed space of the room, the reverb and echo will create a heightened audio-visual experience. We wanted to do so as to emulate the inner voices of an individual diagnosed with anorexia.

 

the thought process behind the series of photographs titled ‘may the circle remain unbroken’, a meditation on love, yearning, loneliness and ennui.

 

For this project, I knew what I wanted to do as I felt that it played more towards my artistic strengths – photography and the narrative element. As such, I utilised more of a moodboard to focus on certain themes.

Instead of scribbling down thoughts or writing down phrases that would trigger an inspiration, I studied my own body of work, notebooks and referenced them to how certain photographers had had an influence on me.

With regards to the overall aesthetics and narrative decisions behind the photographs, I focused onto the topics of loneliness and love.

The feelings I had when I was in Tokyo, a sense of isolation in an urban environment. When the silence feels deafening and the void of loneliness feels ever-present in a room full of people.

Text & Image – Research

Upon receiving the brief for this project, I look upon more conceptual ways in which we could present the given object.

 

Comme Des Garcons, a fashion brand notoriously known for making highly conceptual, in-house designed graphic/advertising work was the basis of how I wanted to push this project. Still, upon feedback from my previous assignments, I wanted to tone down the degree of abstraction and also answer the brief appropriately.

I had intended the final output to be somewhere rather conceptual, a feeling that seems to have a stronger message (or maybe a double message) rather than how we can juxtapose and superimpose images to ‘promote’ the given product.

A Strange Encounter

 

A body of work, collage-style as a way to interrogate the meaning of a character. When the make-up of our existence is defined by our own preferences and idiosyncracies, how can we create an out-of-the-world abstraction that feels neither real or true?

 

Impossibilites Of Being Research

My major source of inspiration was how I coud utilize photography as a way to explain images sequentially. I was intrigued at how, we can sequence image in a non-sequential or non-linear manner or how a certain flow of feelings or emotion could be felt when arranged.

I was primarily intrigued by this music video

Although it felt very diaristic, Okuyama’s (the videographer) arrangment of each footage was interesting.  I am interested at why he arranged it in this manner. Was it something based of intuition or was it arranged chronologically?

Still, I wanted my final artwork to be something more personal – a reflection of sequence to encapsulate a certain way of thinking within a moment.

I used Yoshiyuki Okuyaa’s work as a source of inspiration for his work. As I had the opportunity to visit a show he exhibited at Omotesando Hills, I was impressed at his juxtaposition of abstraction with his commercial (fashion) work.

Text & Image

For this project, we were required to create a small ad collateral material based from the food item we had randomly received.

For the food item, I received a box of Pokka Green Tea. Based from my research earlier, I wanted to provoke the notion of addiction through the cover of an advert for a ‘healthier’ drink.

In short, I wanted to portray the positive side of an addictive quality to a box of green tea. It’s tasty and healthy and yet, its sugar content relays the notion that any form of excessive consumption will be bad. Regardless of how healthy the drink is marketed as, it is not what it seems to be.

Project Ego: Final

Here are the final outcomes of all 12 panels for the final 2d project!

Overall, I am not too pleased with the outcome. As the class is more focused to further eleaborate the visual language of an image, I was caught stranded between the notions of abstraction and clear, visual imagery.

Still, I felt that the class had taught me a lot about visual communcication techniques and especially how color can be used to provoke meaning.

Project Ego: Ideation & Research

For the final project, I had decided to use a few artists favorites of mine as an aesthetic reference.

Namely the works of Peter De Potter, Isa Genzken and John Baldessari were my focal points to build my work around.

Here are a few images that I found inspiring and became the focal point of the overall aesthetic in my final project.

I wanted to use abstract shapes, colors, and free form design to create elements of fun, excitement. Furthermore, I was interested at how we could create various layers of meanings through recontextualizing appropriated images. Hence, a collage became a very useful technique.