CHARLOTTE

Preliminary Reading
What struck me most was the choice of subject focus of the artwork – haze.  It’s something that we can relate to closely since it’s a rather prevalent issue in Singapore every year. I feel that the use of silver gelatin to portray the haze pollutants was an effective approach as it looked similar.

Secondary Reading
Through further research, I realised that this work of Ang Song Nian is more abstract as compared to his other works which were seemed to be more figurative. Also, I feel that Ang’s works mainly focuses on addressing environmental issues, showing the relationship between human and nature. The idea behind his artworks are all similar.


HWEE ANN

Preliminary Reading
The thing that struck me the most about the work was the minimalistic approach to the way haze was presented. Even though it was a little too minimalistic for me, the work became much clearer after reading the short writing about it. And though it is not initially obvious, the realisation that the pieces of paper represent different days of the month gives the work a much deeper meaning. Personally, I think that this is a unique approach to documenting the haze in Singapore.

Secondary Reading
After more research on Ang Song Nian, we realised how he tends to create work surrounding man’s interaction with the environment. However, he tends to take a more figurative approach towards this theme with photos showing forests or objects people own. Unlike those other works, he uses a more abstract approach in Hanging Heavy on My Eyes. Instead of directly depicting the haze in Singapore, he chooses to use different shades of gray show how bad the haze was that day. It is really interesting to see him explore and experiment with different styles.


WEI MING

Preliminary Reading
At first look, I didn’t know it was a calendar. However after reading the description, I think that Ang is very creative to use a calendar format to represent the days and the intensity of hue to represent the amount of haze in the air.

Secondary Studies
After researching more about the artist’s work., I realized this piece is very different from his others. He features physical objects like ladders, old television sets, plants, etc. in most of his other works. However “Hanging Heavy On My Eyes” uses only gradients to create a print. The execution seems abstract, but the meaning is very straightforward. Although the medium used is different, the concept behind all his works is still the same – human presence affects the environment.