From my experiment outside the library being successful, I carried on with the idea of a hanged box above the bean bag.
Around the middle of the set up, I encountered a serious issue which was the difficulty to taped the paper onto the hanging metal panel. Due to this obstacle, I had to dump the idea of the hanged box.
For this project, I wanted to merge both my 3D and 4D briefs together. I asked Prof Michael (4D) and Prof Peter (3D) if I could do it and they gave me their permission.
3D-Foundation-Course-Assignments-9-Conceptual-Object-2017
The aboves (link and image) are the briefs for my 4D and 3D respectively. For 3D, Prof Peter assigned each of his students a word, and mine was loss. I then use this word as a framework for my 4D. So if I were to merge both briefs, it would be something around the lines of finding an object which would emit sound, evoking a feeling of loss in the audience. 
The above image is the first page of my brainstorming. I listed down some objects which I would see around school such as rubbish, plants. In my head, I knew I wanted something which would the audience would be able to relate and simple at the same time.
I then thought of assignment papers and knew I got what I wanted to do. The idea was to convert the state of my mind during submission week into a physical space (an installation). In the above picture, the drawing in the middle is what I initially had in mind: a classroom filled with assignment papers. But after talking to both lecturers, I realized that not only would it be difficult to get a classroom but it would also have been a lot of work for me.
Then I found this fire exit corridor which was I thought would be appropriate to my installation. One part of my installation which I think did not work was the relation to the space. I only realized that after the project submission.
Since the first shown above was the first one I did, I had my doubts on whether it was the best way to set up the installation. After some variations and discussions with friends, I decided that to choose the first sketch since the impact of it was much stronger than any variations I did afterwards.
Before arriving to the final set-up, there were some variations which were tested.
The first variation I did was to just use blank papers to have an idea how the installation would look like.
Then I needed to test the distance between each layer so that the overwhelming effect could be achieved.
After go through the above 2 criteria, I started to hang the assignment papers. Initially, I used both blank and assignment papers, but then I realized that the amount of assignment papers present would not be able to achieve the effect I wanted.
So, I then went on to use only assignment papers. From the above picture, you can see papers lying just where the hanged papers are. Those lying papers actually fell down from the installation. One issue I had while setting up was to make sure that the papers would stay glue to the nylon wire.
The drawing on the left of the above picture is how I initially stick the paper to the nylon string. But since it proved to be inefficient, I then switched the orientation to vertical to provide more contact between the tape, the paper, and the wire.
Another main issue that I faced was that I couldn’t leave my installation in my location since it was a fire exit. Knowing that, I decided to work during the weekends so that when I was done, I could move the layers of papers into the 4D room. The next day, I would move them back to my location and so on.
But then I had to find another way to store my installation since I couldn’t leave my installation in the 4D room while there were classes. I then decided to layer them on each other with a layer of paper separating them to avoid the nylon wires to get entangled. In the end, I just needed to roll the separating papers and my installation was properly stored and safe. On the day of the presentation, I just needed to unroll the papers and set up my installation.
Serene Garden is a work which focuses on the calmness created by the greenery and wild life in Chinese Garden. By merging images and sounds captured in that location, the artist hopes to create in the viewer the feeling of serenity and relaxation expressed through the subjects in the photos.
I mentioned in a past post about editing the colours of my photos. One thing that I didn’t think of was changing the temperature. After tweaking with the temperature, I noticed that making the photo more blue-ish increased the sense of calmness it evoked (at least for me). I thought about the reason behind it and came to the conclusion that it might be because of the resemblance to blue light just before the rising of the sun and people usually associate early morning with lack of activity.
Below are some comparison before and after the temperature change.
Below is my final product for this project.
In the previous experimentation post I dealt with how I should edit my photos in order to tell my story, in this one I focused on the way my story would be delivered.
Since there’s the idea of immersing the viewer into the environment in my concept, the aspect of sound is an important factor to consider. Therefore, I decided to use sound and image to share my story.
Below are 2 samples, one in colour and one in monochrome. The recording used are not very good but they were the best I had at the time of the editing. The reason I created a colour version is for comparison purpose. In the end I still prefer the monochrome version for reasons I had stated in a previous post.
By the end of the exhibition, I chose 2 works which caught my interest.
1st Installation
Artist: Chan Jia Yu
Title: So Far Yet So Near
Description of work: The material used for this installation was plastic bag. From far away, the rows of plastic bags nailed together looked like domino tiles stacked against each other.
Thoughts: Seeing the medium being plastic bag, the first thought that came to me was environmental pollution. Building on this thought, the number of plastic bags found might be the number of plastic bags residents in the HDBs use. The way the rows were placed also make me wonder if whether there was a notion of time in it such as for example there would be weeks where the usage of plastic bags would be higher than others. However after reading the artist’s statement, I realized that my initial thoughts were completely of the rail. The first thing which puzzled was which part of the installation suggested the idea of transformation of plastic bags from being essential to trash. A plastic bag which is essential is one which is fulfilling its purpose that is to hold stuffs and a plastic bag which is trash is one which is on the floor all “creased”. Another feature of the work which I believe does not work is the use of square shaped plastic sheets. The sight of the latter gave me a sense of cleanliness. Another point which feature which I didn’t notice was the lightness a plastic bags. Being stacked together, the rows of plastic bags were so heavy that they barely moved by the wind. One possible change I would have made is to use individual plastic bags scattered (including floating in the air) all around the space so that the idea of translucency and lightness is more obvious to the viewer.
Close up of a stack of plastic bags
The light shining on the plastic bags brings out their translucency as stated by the artist.
A close up of the above shot.
2nd Installation
Name: Tan Luo Yi
Title: My Account of Being Nowhere (Try again, again)
Description of work: Fishing nets, white glue and found materials were used to create this installation.
Thoughts: When I entered the room, I knew the installation was dealing with the idea of space. After observing the net structure and the glue on it, there was an idea of fragility which was obvious to me. This idea might stemmed from the visual analysis of the crumbling structure of the net and the partial dry glue patches on the net which resembled to cracks on walls. Though this time, I do agree to some extent on the idea that the artist wants to deliver through his/her work. One particular point that I would to like to comment is the idea of claustrophobia. In relation to the space of the room and the space occupied by the installation, the empty space of the room was much more. Then there is the use of net which does not really strengthen the idea of claustrophobia since it is barely visible in contrast to it’s environment. The part which I agree is the feeling homelessness in it. Having mentioned that the work gives me a feeling of fragility, I do believe that homeless people also feel the same about their current living space since the time left for them in it is limited.
I am assuming that the sticks are present to hold the installation.
Empty space which does not really convey the idea of claustrophobia.
Another angle of the work.
A close up of the texture of net and glue together.
On the 2nd consultation with Mr Michael, we talked about the story that I wanted to narrate, how I will show my narration to my viewers, the subject-space ratio (a very important aspect my project) and ways in which my photos can be edited (mostly in terms of colours) to strengthen the story narration.
The story is mostly made up of key words like calmness (no show of strong emotions such as anger or nervousness), isolation, forest and immensity.
Some of my photos portrayed the listed features in their composition, framing, action or emotion on the face of my subject(s). Below are some examples.
As mentioned above, one important aspect in my photos which will help in showing that effect of isolation is the subject-space ratio.
I have also tried editing the colours of my photos to see if they would strengthen the narration of my story.
In the first 3 photos above, I only kept the colours on my subjects. After observation, there was something which did not really work with my concept.
In the next 4 photos, it is the colour of my subjects that I have removed. But again, I don’t feel this editing adds more to the idea of sereneness or isolation.
For the last editing, which is converting the pictures to black and white, there was a new layer of feeling which was added to the photos; a nostalgic feeling/freezing of time. I believe that black and white is a more suitable choice for my project since the colours don’t really add much to my story. By converting my photos in to BW, this would force me to take more time to compose my shots since it is not colour would not help me in creating focus on my subejct but rather framing, shapes and shadows.
Nothing much for this post but just photos which correlate with more or less with my project.
