by ·0 Comments

Task 1:

Consultation with client. My client was Fatin, and on our first consultation she wanted a desk organiser. As a rigid object, I found it hard to work with and was not easy to come up with a ‘special’ desk organiser, as there were many organisers already made. It did not resonate anything unique about Fatin. I asked her a few more questions about the organiser to add onto the idea and consulted my professor Peter on the subject.

After much thought, I consulted Fatin again and asked if she wanted anything else. This time round, I asked specifically if she had any memories, whether good or bad, that she was comfortable to share and create something to represent that memory. She shared with me her secondary school teacher, Mr. Wee, who would pick on her and make her stand in class for no good reason. He would also shout at her face and caused much emotional hurt to her. I asked what she liked as well, so that I had a wider angle to work with. Fatin enjoys collecting items, such as ring tabs and chains. Her favourite colour was red, but I decided to use blue as a contrast to what she liked (as she detested the memory of Mr. Wee). I used other metallic objects in replacement of ring tabs and chains as they were easier to rust (as part of her story, the relationship between the two deteriorated over time). This was my process, I thought about the design of the bag first.

I gathered my metallic objects (iron and steel based) to rust. I used a solution made of vinegar, salt and hydrogen peroxide to rust the objects. Firstly, I threw the objects into a pail, poured in vinegar for a duration of 5-10mins, and then added hydrogen peroxide and salt. The solution made the objects in the pail bubble up, and formed a thick layer of foam. The objects started rusting, and I left them in the solution for half an hour.

https://youtu.be/bImH4jAjCzw –Link to my rusting process

In class, I bent the copper wires and soldered them together to create a frame for my bag, and used pvc roll as my bag (I glued the pvc plastic together according to the dimensions. I sew a zip on the bag for practical purposes (for ease of adding and removing objects from the bag). I placed a cone on the top of the bag to funnel in the salt that represented Fatin’s saltiness towards Mr. Wee. The items in the bag represented the frustrations and restrains of their relationship, and the rawness of the degradation she felt. This was the final product.

I used copper wires for the bag strap to represent how uncomfortable the emotional baggage would be for her, and added salt into the bag for demonstration in class. Some of the items in Fatin’s bag were not rusted, to show the process of her deteriorating relationship.

Feedback: The styrofoam balls I had placed in initially to represent salt was not removed. I did not do so as it was able to absorb the rust from the metallic objects and gave an overall ‘gross’ and dirty feel to the bag.

Reflection: I was surprised how I was able to work with the objects and create a clear narrative to my work. I really enjoyed the process and am glad that Fatin really enjoys the product I made for her! The bag was more non-functional and more conceptual as I had hope for it to be.

by ·0 Comments

Task 1

We were told to bring objects that either had meaning or we just have in our possession from our homes.Initially, I brought a few random objects that did not really have a meaning, some items from secondary school prom and etc. One of which was a marble, which represented my fear of them when I hear them bouncing on my ceiling (I live on the highest floor). These objects did not provide me a good idea of what I wanted to do, so I went home again and flipped through my memory box. These boxes were all filled with past letters written to me, some of which were very well thought and designed. Most of them were birthday and Christmas cards. As I read them, I was reminded of how fast time has flew and how fast I grew up. I have gone through so ‘many’ life stages at this point, remarkably JC to army to Uni in such a short span of time. These letters meant a lot to me, and were among the few items I choose to keep after renovating my room.

Task 2

We were told to make a shadow box using the idea/concept that we got from the items we brought. I did not want to use the conventional shoe box as advised. Instead, I wanted to create a shadow box that represented life in a way, and I coined it as ‘The Game of Life’ box. I wanted it to look like a game box, a Gachapon machine as the element of randomness and curiosity was present. The idea of not being able to choose what you received intrigued me, just as how we aren’t able to choose what we get from life. This progression in life was taken from the idea of growing up from my letters. My items were carefully chosen; they were:

  1. Slinky (To show a transcendence of time, a connection)
  2. Polaroids (Memories of different time periods)
  3. Wrist coins (Childhood game)
  4. Game Capsules (To encase my items)
  5. Fairy Lights (To bring out the ‘game’ element)
  6. Old Phones (To show a progression of upgrade of technology in my life)
  7. Army items (As a ‘phase’)
  8. Ring (received on my birthday)
  9. Clipboard to write my game instructions

The rest were for design purposes.

This was my process; I started off my thinking of how I wanted to build my box.

After the brainstorming, I brought my items and glued my boards together as a start. I was careful with the process
because I was afraid of mixing up the steps of creating the box.

I did not use the ply wood for the middle platform as I wanted it to look clear.

After this step, I coloured the board with spray paint. I screwed in the nuts as well for the middle platform.I tried out the layout for the box as well.

After gluing everything together, placing the items and attaching the fairy lights, this was the final product.

Reflection:
I really enjoyed the process, even though I was not familiar with drilling and gluing things together, it was nonetheless exciting to carefully plan out a box that was meaningful. At first I thought really hard about spray painting the box, and I went ahead with it anyway as I knew what I wanted it to represent (The colours faded at the bottom to show the progression to dull, mundane adulthood).

by ·0 Comments

Roman Ondak
(Slovak, born 1966)

Measuring the Universe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found Roman Ondak’s work really special, the simple gesture of recording down the name and particulars of each individual
that went to the exhibition according to their height created a thick line across the room. The work has personality,
creativity and most importantly, to me, it was created through individualism. In participatory art, the artwork grows along
with the participation, and watching the exhibition unfold was really interesting. Roman Ondak portrayed how simple it is
to create an artwork through our uniqueness.

Erwin Wurm

(Austria, 1954)

Ice Head 2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Erwin Wurm invites participants to interact with the art pieces, which have holes in them specifically for the participants to stick a limb in and pose for a photo. With the involvement of the participants, the art piece, which initially seemed mundane and uninteresting, suddenly comes to life and also has a little bit of humour embedded in the participatory art. In a way, the art piece cannot be recreated in that exact setting, making it more intriguing and unique.

by ·0 Comments

Glorification of Vices

We live in a society where drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes are becoming inherently normal. The crave for a mild, temporary buzz from smoking a cigarette and tipsiness experienced from having a little too much alcohol is increasing, especially among the younger generation. The illusion of fulfillment and contentment by undertaking vices is widespread. Pop culture, which promotes alcohol consumption and other vices as a prerequisite to having a ‘good time’, has a strong influence on its young audience. This plaguing plight of mindset changes may ultimately lead to wrongful glorification of vices, of which some are so afraid of. We must be more aware of doing the morally right thing, especially when faced in tough situations when we are convinced otherwise. In this era of defiance and rebelliousness, who will hold firm to their ethics? Why do we glorify such bad behaviours, when we are clearly aware of the consequences?

by ·0 Comments

Concept

Influence.

I want to show, through a series of simple drawings created by 10 participants,
the presence of influence we have on each other, whether in a big or small way.
I folded 2 A4 cardboards, attached 2 different flowers on one end of the cardboard,
and cut a hole on the other end.

The presentation went as followed:
The 10 participants would be separated into two groups: One would be able to see
what each other have drawn, the other group would not be able to do so.
They would go take turns to enter the classroom, and the participants were not
allowed to communicate verbally. They would then insert one hand into the cardboard box
and feel the object, and draw whatever they felt the object was. There was a little twist
to this, I switched the boxes around after the second person from each group had drawn their
drawings. The third person from each group would then draw a different object, and because
they were not allowed to communicate, they would not know that it was changed. The group
that were allowed to refer to one another’s work ended up drawing similar items even though
their objects had changed.


The group that was not allowed to refer to each other’s work drew objects of their own interpretation. I explained to the class afterwards that my point was made, that we were inevitably affected by one another, and this extended much further than simply drawing flowers from a cardboard box. Consider influence in a bigger context, such as in our daily lives. We are affected by the choices that others make, such as giving bad reviews to a particular movie and bringing down its ratings. We would always check the reviews of a movie before watching, and would more often than not skip the movie if it had terrible reviews.

Feedback:
The objects could have had more difference to make the participants think twice about what they were drawing.

Reflection: I was glad that I was able to convey my ideas through a simple participatory work, and with a revision, I believe that the work could have an educational aspect for the younger generation and possibly educate on the importance of having individualism.

by ·0 Comments

Idea:
When I first started conceptualizing for the project,
I had thought about my passion for dance and the idea of
being able to move around freely in an urban space(parkour).
The idea transitioned to someone who was unable to perform incredible
stunts, and whilst dreaming, was given these abilities to ‘draw’ from
mid air, shift objects and fly around freely. I described this in my presentation
as ‘superpowers’. In the end, the abilities were taken from him in a volatile
manner and the elements that he thought he could control, was instead controlling
him. At this point of time, he would be transported back to reality through
the reversal of his ‘dance’ moves he had done from the start.

Process:
I was intrigued by the possibilities of creating a stop motion through
clay/blue tac/kneadable eraser figure, as it was simple to shape and I used malleable
aluminium wires to attach the figure to the background, so that he could ‘fly’. The
process was tedious as I had to set up the environment (the playground), think about
the step to step process of what I wanted him to do. The ‘drawing’ part was made by
black acrylic paint and a paintbrush, to draw each action and move the figure at the
same time. I had actually created multiple scenes, and only decided to leave in the
most appropriate ones to keep the video concise and clear.

Comments:
Some objects did not fit the theme, or rather, wasn’t appropriate for the story line
e.g the pack of can drinks that appeared halfway in the video. Certain scenes could
have included angle shifts to maintain the attention of the viewers.

Reflection:
I was contented with the results, but there is always space for improvement. I could have
added a smoother transition into the eraser character, created more interesting elements
for him to play with, and made the environment more convincing as an actual urban space
for him to move around. With more time and reflection, I believe I can improve my concept
and convey a clearer idea to my viewers.