Routine is a series of visual narrative to relay the deeply missed daily practice of my late grandfather. Although these lifeless remnants kept calling out for his impossible return, it was as if he had never left us.
Comments on the draft from Prof Robert and the class:
Close your eyes and immerse yourself in a past event that evokes that particular emotion. Grip your pencil with your non-dominant hand and start expressing them.
We repeated the process for the following 4 emotions:
HAPPY- “My First Cooking Experience”:
There were many rounded loops which represented the recurring swirls of happiness I felt then. Certain areas which had wiry darker lines were indicative of stronger and overlapping nature of it.
ANGRY- “Feeling Betrayed”:
There were many prominent thick lines done with pressure. Coupled with the sharp turns and crosses, they were representative of the initial shock of realisation which gradually developed into anger. At the more concentrated parts (darker areas), the feeling of anger intensified. Towards the end (bottom left for example), rounded portions showed how I am mulling over the event and questioning myself about the cause of it.
SAD-“Longing”
Initially there were sharp spiny strokes clustered together to represent the small clusters of pain I felt, lke tear drops. After which, there was a gradual increase in the distance between the spikes to show how they eventually get less intense and hence further apart. The wavy lines that went back and forth showed how my mind glossed over the memories repeatedly. The proximity of the lines was also indicative of the frequency of the waves of emotion.
NERVOUS- “My First Presentation/ Speech”
Swirls after swirls represented the balls of nervousness that kept coming back at me, lasting for the entire event. Different sizes of the swirls showed how I noticed the overall big to minor details as the cause of the nervousness. Overlapping swirls with close proximity of them were indicative of how uptight I felt then. Short anxiety spikes towards the end (extreme left) showed how the jabs of adrenaline were eventually spread out after some time.
I find the usage of charcoal sticks fascinating since I have never used one before. It was not an easy task to express texture through charcoal. There were many instances where I could not get the shadings right and my metal mug looked like a melting mug since the shape was not that firm. I tried to touch up the best I could and Prof Woon Lam guided me on the things to take note of such as darkening the surrounding areas to make the desired area look whiter, how to capture the lines of reflection more accurately and how to minimise inaccurate shadings.
Being totally new to life sketching, this task proved to be quite a challenge to me. My first attempt was horrendous as I could not grasp what Professor Woon Lam wanted.
First Attempt:
However, after the session, he explained in further detail what we could have tried to enhance the sketch. In my second attempt, I made conscious effort to implement what was taught earlier.
Second Attempt:
Although I am still unsure about the exact technique Prof wants us to execute, I have learnt quite a fair bit through the practical and the session had been enlightening thus far. 🙂
1) Something that is not “NTU’ at all:
(In the morning) (At night)
Wild boar at hall of residence 9. People would not expect to see a wild boar in a school, let alone among the residences. It may seem surprising to people outside NTU, at least that was the case for me before I came here.
2) Somebody not studying in NTU:
Cleaner uncle at NIE. Even though he is obviously not a person studying in NTU, I feel that they hold an important role in maintaining a conducive environment for all of us to study in.
3) Somebody studying in NTU:
Group of students discussing about a project at North Spine.
4) Useless image you see:
Ceiling of the EOS. It shows some design but you cannot make out what it is exactly. It could be a bridge linking to other areas for all you know so it does not tell us anything useful.
5) Useful image you see:
AED Machine and Defibrillator. Useful for any emergency situations where anyone nearby suffer from myocardial infarction.
6) Nature:
Small forested area behind hall 9. I did not spot any man made pavements through the area and it seems to be safe from any human activities for now.
7) Urban nature:
Modern style plants in North Spine. It is a combination of urban structures and plants which are specially chosen with characteristics suitable for comfortable growth with lesser sunlight.
8) Urban:
Urban gives me the idea of a concrete jungle. This stairway, though useful, is situated in a confined area of concrete.
9) Singapore:
Majula Singapura Crest on path outside SIM Tech.
10) A place where art is shown:
Art Gallery at NIE. If you actually zoom in, you can see that there is an upcoming exhibition held in the art gallery by Dr Iskandar Jalil on ‘ A master potter’s philosophy and process ’ from 17 Aug to 16 Sep.
11) A place where art is made:
ADM Building where new ideas and perspectives about art are created daily.
12) A photograph with a faculty:
NIE staff in the canteen.
13) EOS:
EOS where students learn more about geography and conduct fundamental research on earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunami and climate change in and around Southeast Asia, towards safer and more sustainable societies.
Exploring how to convey emotions using lines is the first assignment for my Foundation 2D class. While it is inherent to express emotions using words directly, using lines and art as another medium will be interesting as well.
18 lines, each representative of an emotion, be it a core emotion or their subsets can be sorely sufficient for viewers to relish in them.
