Dejavu: I think 7 years old me takes better pictures than me now

Digging through the old family album looking for a photo to replicate, I was amazed by the interesting photos that I found, especially the “bad” and ambiguous ones taken by my siblings and I when we were young and were just messing around with the compact camera.

The first photo I attempted was taken in my room back in Shanghai by my sibling. I tried to imitate the blurry image with slow shuttle speed and a window light shining from the right side of the picture.

I managed to achieve the blurry image with a shuttle speed of 1s (and a small aperture to avoid overexposure). I didn’t manage to get the fall off on the wall in the background, perhaps due to the distance between the wall and the light source.

 

 

The second photo was me in relative’s house in Taiwan, the strong backlight makes it a horrible picture, my facial feature is barely visible. I wanted to try imitate the strong backlight,

 

I was using the noon/afternoon window light, however, it was still not strong enough to get the overexposed effect I want(or rather the interior was not dark enough). I had to increase the contrast in photoshop in order to get the contrasting image(of the overexposed exterior and dark interior)

 

The last one was a picture of my brother when he was younger. It was shot from a lower angle, in a dimly lit room with a flash.

I am quite happy with the result, however as Elke mentioned, I missed a light source from the left side of the picture that casted a faint shadow on the wall in the original photo,

GIVE ME BACK MY BABY

GIVE ME BACK MY BABY is my approach on re-looking at the trope of female ghost in Asian Horror films, by portraying the frequently used characteristics of the female ghosts in a new light, showing their roles as empowerment despite the negative connotation and celebrating their womanly ability to reproduce.

The work is inspired by the research that looked into the reason behind the frequent occurrence of vengeful female ghost in Asian myth and folklore 

More details in my previous research post:

WHY IS (almost) EVERY ASIAN GHOST EXACTLY THE SAME GHOST

The different visuals are timelapse of either ink spread on wet paper or fruits being squashed between glass panels, the fruits are placed above the light source to get the desired translucency. 

The earlier attempt of such method  is recorded in my process post:

SQUISH SQUASH SQUAHSH

Here are some of the female ghost features that are portrayed in the video.

Black hair

Blood

Lips

Teeth

 

Hips and the female genital

The blueberry bursting with the seeds form an ambiguous visual to suggest the process of childbirth

 

And finally the work on the media wall:

GIVE ME BACK MY BABY , MAN NTU LED, 15m by 2m, North Spine Plaza NTU Singapore 2017, Photographed by Solomon Quek Jia Liang

GIVE ME BACK MY BABY , MAN NTU LED, 15m by 2m, North Spine Plaza NTU Singapore 2017, Photographed by Solomon Quek Jia Liang

GIVE ME BACK MY BABY , MAN NTU LED, 15m by 2m, North Spine Plaza NTU Singapore 2017, Photographed by Solomon Quek Jia Liang

GIVE ME BACK MY BABY , MAN NTU LED, 15m by 2m, North Spine Plaza NTU Singapore 2017, Photographed by Solomon Quek Jia Liang

 

 

In the style of Anna Atkins

The artist that I looked into was Anna Atkins. She seemed to have a Anna Atkins’ father, John George Children, and her husband, John Pelly Atkins, were friends of William Henry Fox Talbot. It was said that she learned directly from him about his two inventions, the salted paper and calotype processes. Atkins was also friends with Sir John Herschel who invented cyanotype in 1842. She was knowned to have had access to a camera by 1841, sadly no camera based photographs by her survived, what she was famous for was the series of cyanotype photograms she did with algae as the subject matter.

For the very first step, I tried re-creating the photograms using plants found around campus, which resulted in visuals that are similar to that created by Atkins.

In her prints, Atkins used long exposure to obtain the details of the subject matter, as enough light is able to pass through the object and expose the chemicals. Unfortunately I didn’t get to extend the exposure time long enough for such effect, hence the stark blue-white contrast in my images.

 

But since the main idea of it is to make use of the translucency of the material, I changed my subject and used daily objects which were translucent to create the photograms. The result was interesting texture and ghostly prints.

And perhaps what interest me about Atkins’ works was not that much about the process, but her choice of subject matter and presentation. To me there was beauty in the way she arrange the subjects. They were not  merely documentary, but also beautiful imagery.

For the next step, I printed photo negatives on transparency, and overlap them with the plants I collected .

Distancing the object from the cyanotype coated paper creates a more ambiguous shape with blurry outline

 

And finally these are the three images that I was most happy with.

It was interesting how when I overlap the negative with the object, it became a calculation of light deduction.’

What i was doing it not to document the plant or simply create a photograph using photonegative and cyanotype, I feel that in this case the object i use becomes a pattern, and by combining the images I feel like I’m creating somewhat between a photograph and a painting.

 

SQUISH SQUASH SQUAHSH

TESTING TESTING

with my limited equipment and the I tried to do the squashed fruit idea to see if the ideal result is attainable

The visual turns out fine with selective fruits (the grape is hard to squash and underwelming)

Gotta fix:

  1. shaky!  gotta get that remote/ time lapse setting thingy
  2. brightness keep jumping around
  3. improve on layout and-
  4. would be great if i can make use of layering to achieve a continuous flow at different parts of the wall

YUPS THATS ALL FOR NOW

NO, REALLY, DON’T THINK TOO MUCH

 

2 lessons from the consultation with Michael:

1. Don’t speculate.

My initial idea include commentaries on how the library is a stressful place, how people don’t read the books.

But is it really?

All these perception perhaps only applies to small group of people.

It is a regret that I didn’t spend enough time in the library to understand and appreciate its true nature. I didn’t spend enough time observing what people do in the library, I didn’t spend enough time interviewing people on how they feel in the library.

2. Involvement of the space and experience

“You are focusing too much on the artwork”

Instead of using the space to create a work, what I did was creating a work to be exhibited in the space.

 

Based in the advice I worked out another idea:

The Conversational Flow Chart

People come to ADM library for various purposes, and there is a place for each activity in ADM library, some are bounded by the facilities and resources present, while others follows the unspoken rule we observe in the library.

My plan is to create a flow chart that spread across the floor of ADM library that engage the visitors in a conversation while directing them to different areas of the place.

This flow chart does not serve as a directory for visitor, but rather challenge them to think about their purpose of coming to the library, as well as high lighting some of the unspoken rules in the library, evoking thoughts on how they were derived.

 

Below is the initial plans for the flowchart. (Click to see details)

However the choice of dialogue used is not strong( or edgy) enough, and it seems to become a way-finding tool.

 

Art for the people?

Idealistically speaking, exhibition such as this one at the water loo aims to reach out to the public, to democratise art, which sounds all very noble and nice, but in this case does it really work?

To make it effective in reaching out to the new group of audience, you can’t just throw the art work around the area and expect people to get it. The selection of artwork, and how accessible their concepts are becomes crucial to whether people would accept them.

(Also bringing art installation into the residence space could get a bit intrusive, the new visitors might not respect the peace of the area and might disturb the residents.)

Fajrina Razak’s Jalan Nan Juah (Far Distant)

Some art doesn’t have to be that deep, sometimes art just need to be beautiful in the simple way. That’s how this one makes me feel. The traditional medium used, the way the fabric drape and get blown by the wind, the way those colour shines under the sun, it makes me so happy walking through the panels . It works well with the environment too, the choice of colours compliment that of the building, not trying too hard to stand out but almost becoming part of the building, kind of reminding me of residents hanging out their bed sheet to dry, but in a good and familiar way.

Rifqi Amirul’s Transit


My initial thought is kitsch, because of the shimmering visual of the foil curtain. It IS pretty, and I can imagine so many visitors instagramming their selfie in front of this work. The location is also interesting, making it the first thing one sees as they step out of the elevator to the public platform. The way it flows in the wind is really pleasing to the eye. But to be frank I see little connection between the work and the write up. Though the work alone is eye catching enough and I get to see some interesting reactions from the residents. There were also nice moments like this when kids interact with it, not complicating the work by thinking whether it’s art or what it could mean.

Nhawfal Juma’at’s To Morrow’s Night

This is one of the few work that I feel only works in public domain.

It creates a separation between inside and outside. He created a private space within public domain, that isolate the viewers. I don’t think this is the artist’s intention but the plastic film allows the audience on the inside to see what’s on the outside but not the other way around, so that’s some voyeuristic elements to it. The separation was interesting, it felt strange and new. I walked in and walked out feeling equally confused, feeling that there should be more.

Also, maintenance. During the second visit the work was already destroyed by the weather, the material and method of construction is perhaps not a good idea.

 

Winnie Yap’s Love Shrine

 

Another piece that i felt would look better in museum setting, the connection of the work to the place is slightly far streched. (Just like how a person left his traces on bed, the time and residents of the place makes the appearance of the place now.)

The hot pink and the title makes it seem like an innuendo, and I still can’t quite connect that feeling to the work.

One thing that’s bugging me is the shape of the bed sheet casing, why wasn’t it stretched to a bed shape? The shape gives it an awkward look that makes it look unfinished. And why is it so high? since the audience are suppose to observe the sheet to see the trace left behind by whoever slept on it, shouldn’t the surface of the bed be at least eye levelled? The current position kind of invites me to pop my head into the space within the sheet. Perhaps the problem is that the fishing line might obstruct the visitors, but I just feel that there’s better way of presenting the work.

Lee Wan Xiang’s Take Shelter

About the work.

Saving the favourite work to the last .

Similar to the Batik paintings by Fajrina Razak, the found objects used in this work gives it a rustic and homely vibe that makes it almost emotional. It’s really smart to use found objects which already has traces of time marked by their previous owners.

It was immersive, the space was transformed into something entirely different. The moment I stepped into the space I felt like I am visiting a someone’s make-shift home. It was made up with bits and pieces, it is shabby and yet feels so homely.

The experience was rather complete, visitors get to wonder in the space, discovering the small writings and drawings that adds more personal touch to the installation. Perhaps it’s the details that really worked for me.

It leaves me thinking, how do we make a home from scratch, what makes the space so homely.

Even more interesting when you understand that the location used for this exhibition is usually locked to prevent the homeless from taking shelter.

I think bringing art to the pubic is a great idea, but perhaps it’s time for us to put more thought into the approach.

Simply shifting works from gallery space to the residence space is just straight up inconsiderate. It is important to be sensitive to the new audience, the new surrounding. How to fit in to the space and still stands out as art? How to make the concepts more accessible to those unfamiliar or uninterested in art? When I say that the concept should be accessible, I’m not saying that it should be too literal or too in-your-face. The works should be less intellectual but remain elegant. They could be more experiential, more interactive to captive the audience, they could be more relatable, making it more relevant to the viewer.

But then again, who am I to say all these.

THIS IS HOME, REALLY?

 

Home is an abstract idea that could be transient and fluid at time. It is fascinating to me that something that is suppose to provide stability and security can be so fragile and unstable. What makes a place our home? What makes it no longer home? When and how does a foreign place transit to home?

Looking at the experience of a Chinese working in Singapore and a Singaporean studying in US, the switch of perspective not only invite us to reflect on our opinions on the foreigners, but also evoke thoughts on our definition of home. This might be our home, but what make it our home?