November 2016

The theme of my art piece is ageing population. The current old-age support ratio is 5.4, which means 1 young adult in Singapore has to support about 6 elderly. This ratio is really high to be honest. Imagine the younger generation have to support not only their parents, but also the grandparents. So I wanted to show how bad the situation is in Singapore. Not saying that I am encouraging every couple to have more children, but rather to tell the younger generations that they really have a huge responsibility to bear in the future. This also applies to us, and it will only get worse in the future.

I used the 1:6 ratio in my art piece (there can’t be 5.4 humans), with a baby representing the current generation, a working couple to represent the parent generation, and of course 4 grandmas and grandpas to represent the elder generation. The baby has to support 2 generations of people, and is squashed to the bottom of the inverted pyramid. This inverted pyramid of old-age support is locked up inside a cage, portraying the fact that this phenomenon is a never ending cycle that Singapore faces (the pyramid will only get bigger).

At first, when I was brainstorming and drafting, I only thought of using a 2 level inverted pyramid to show the ratio. However, I realised that the elderly will be floating around on the top layer of the pyramid and thus I scraped that idea and modified to what I currently have now.

The colour scheme of my work piece is basically monochromatic, black, white and some grey. except for the baby, which I gave it some colour to show that the baby represents the current generation of Singaporeans. The basic composition is an inverted pyramid that I placed in a one-third ratio, with the ageing at 2/3 of the space to emphasise the heavy weight of them resting on the baby. Also, to show that this is a heavy responsibility weighing on the younger generations, the emotions of the characters are more emo with their body squashed. The small elements that the characters are carrying (holding) are actually representations of what the current generation have to support the aged for. The wheelchair and walking stick represents medical support, the grocery basket represents the day to day allowance, and the bird cage to represents hobbies of the ageing that the younger generation have to help to sustain.

I basically used lino-cut and paper-cut to complete this art piece. The different characters are done using lino-cut. I carved out the lino pad into the shape of the characters, just like a stamp, after doing the details of the character. I put in some textures for the hair to show the difference in hair for the elderly and the working generation, and also on clothes to show the creases. The other small elements like the wheelchair, the groceries basket, bird cage etc, are made using paper cuts.

Some progress shots:

Story Line

My story is about a beautiful fish living in a pond where she can see the birds in the sky flying freely. There is always this bird that flies pass the pond everyday, and it didn’t take long for this beautiful fish to admire the bird. She fell in love with the bird, and as the bird noticed her admiration towards him, he started to talk to her. The fish was elated, but she didn’t know that the bird had other intentions. One day, the bird lured his admirer to the shallower part of the pond and gobbled up the poor fish before flying away, feeling satisfied with his meal.

Planning

It was the first time I tried lino cutting, using the different cutting knives to carve on rubber pads. To explore with different textures the lino cutter can bring, I tried out the various cutting knives available. There were actually only 2 kinds of cutter that was easier to use. the small V shape cutter helps with small details and creates nice straight textures. It is the most easy to control cutter. The second is the small U shape cutter, which gives very pleasant curve textures to it. It is these 2 cutters that I find relevant for my art piece I have in mind (to create the wind and water textures).

Frame One

This frame shows the fish swimming in the pond. I wanted the background to be white at first, and the fish white too, but I made a mistake in the cutting of the lino pad. I tested it out and realised that the inverted looks good as well. I positioned the fish to be in a circle, as water ripples of the pond is curved, thus it will be better for the fish to be positioned in a circle rather than a fish swimming straight. I played with the different textures for the fish and the background.

Firstly, the fish’s textures. The scales were meant to be emptied out and be white, but I thought maybe leaving some stray marks on the scales would have an unintended textures. Luckily, it turned out well. I also added some textures on the tail and the fins of the fish, to show the fishtail marks.

As for the background, I use the V-shaped and U-shaped cutters to do the ripples of the water. Nearer to the fish, there will be more intense ripples (more curvy), and further away the ripples are straighter. All these help to create textures of the pond water.

Frame Two

This frame shows the bird flying away happily after eating the poor fish. During planning I already wanted to make the texture of the air (the wind), and thus I figured that I shouldn’t add much details to the bird otherwise the whole frame will be very messy. That’s why I left the bird black. I used the one-third rule for this composition. The grass occupied one-third of the plane and the bird occupying the rest of it so as to put the emphasis on the bird. Similarly, I used the V-shaped and U-shaped cutters to portray how the bird is soaring in the wind.

Takeaway

I realised that certain mistakes can actually give unexpected results. It is good to make do with what we have, even if there are mistakes. Imperfection may just be the perfect touch to the piece.

Some progress shots:

Month: November 2016

Project 5 – Colour Lino-Cut Print

Project 4 – Black & White Lino Cut