I spent some time staring at the Brief, wondering which part of nature should I be focusing on in order to bring out society and I, an element of chance, and Singaporean feels. Instead of doing something commonplace, I decided to go DADA and explore something that is a little more realistic- yet neglected.

For this assignment, we were supposed to use photographs of pictures found in nature. Usually, one would associate nature with life and greenery, flooded with happiness and fluffiness. However, (I swear this has nothing to do with the 7th Month) I decided to approach it from the aspect of death. This is because the truth about Singapore is not entirely happy and idealistic despite how we have been brought up to believe.

These are two of the photographs I have selected out of the bunch I have taken. “IT’S ROTTEN!!’ is what Gordon Ramsay would have screamed. They are dead tree barks, rotten by the humidity in Singapore and devoured by the insects that live on it. The whole concept of the dead tree bark is just like Singapore; we thrive on the nature around us, living on it for sustenance and utilizing its body to create tons of man-made products used to fuel out lifestyles.

Over the history of decades, we have utilized so much natural resources that we are importing these materials from overseas to continue sustaining our living needs. I am not insinuating that we are the only country who does this, of course, but Singapore, commonly known as a Concrete Jungle relying on imports and trade for survival, it is safe to say that we are very alike the definition I have just proposed compared to neighbouring countries like Malaysia and Vietnam. However, the death of these plant lives is not all sacrificed- it has helped Singapore to thrive and become one of the most beautiful cities in the world in terms of both aesthetics and the way our country is run.

“In the larger picture, you see an organized beauty in the pattern, abundant with life and colour. Funky, hip and modern. When you take a closer look, you will soon realize that it is the living nature around us that is sacrificed that helped us to achieve that beauty Singapore is today.”

Chinese Nightingale (1920)

Artwork description & Analysis: Ernst’s use of photomontage was less political and more poetic than those of other German Dadaists, creating images based on random associations of juxtaposed images. He described his technique as the “systematic exploitation of the chance or artificially provoked confrontation of two or more mutually alien realities on an obviously inappropriate level – and the poetic spark that jumps across when these realities approach each other”.
https://www.theartstory.org/movement-dada-artworks.htm#pnt_1

My favourite art movement among the readings is DADA. That is because it is the most chaotic and unpredictable art movement among the rest. While the rest of the art movements have a sort of rule to them, such as using angles and different perspectives to create the art work. However, DADA refutes the use of all rules; instead, it relies on the imagination and creativity of the artist to create the most bizarre art piece. The freedom allowed in this art movement is what attracts me.

One of my favourite pieces is The Chinese Nightingale (1920) by Max Ernst. It features a combination of war machinery merging with human limbs and other accessories to create weird hybrid creatures. In this case, it has the arms and fan of an oriental dancer acting as the limbs and headdress of a creature whose body is an English bomb. For Ernest who was injured by the recoil of a gun in war, it created a fear generated by weaponry combined with benign elements and often lyrical titles for him. To be afraid of a manmade war weapon was common during the DADA revolution times because of war. Hence, to repel this fear and revolt against the constant violence, a mockery is made out of this scary subject.

To me, it is brave for Ernst to combine something so gentle, aesthetic and feminine into a brutal war machine. It is also not typical to attempt creating a disharmony in works in that era. As a result, I salute Ernst for breaking out of the conventional art creations to establish such a stark contrast in his works, as well as his attempts to convey social commentary about the fear of war during that time period.