I had a few ideas approaching this art piece. The first one was initially to create a piece based on “kiasu-ness”, which is a hokkien term many Singaporeans use to describe as one being afraid to lose.
This is seen in incidences where Singaporeans have queued long hours for ridiculous things that they may not have interest in (eg. Singaporeans queuing for hours just to get their hands on a limited edition hello kitty toy:: https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/hundreds-across-singapore-queue-for-limited-edition-hello-kitty).
However, I decided to eventually go with an idea that resonated with me more, which is the “controversy” many Singaporeans have on exploring a different path in life.
Although times have changed and many are slowly evolving to embrace new ideas, I have also heard many stories from my friends whom have said of how their parents simply refuse to let them pursue a career in the arts (for example) because it does not ensure them an iron rice bowl. Many of their parents want them to become lawyers, doctors or engineers as that is their idea of “stability”. I even have a couple of friends who wanted to pursue an arts degree (like coming to ADM) but is unable to do so because their parents disapprove of it. Whilst we were sharing on this topic, one of my friends casually remarked, “Wah, I agree sia, Singaporeans only think within the box and not outside the box! No creativity sia!”
Thus came my inspiration for this piece:
I separated the entire canvas into two: a white side and a black side. The black represents a darker side with a lack of opinions while the white represents possibility, almost like an to create invitation to create freely (painting on a white canvas analogy).
On the black side, I put squares to represent people who may only think within their boxes (or in the case of my story, their ideas and thinking). The squares have a forward movement and increase in size from smaller to bigger progressively. This was to illustrate the message of a Singaporean childhood who has been “boxed” up by their education system that there is only one route to success. Seen on the top left of the artwork, the squares try to move in a random and rapid direction, signifying the attempts to break out of the box. However, any attempts are not successful as it leads to the same unbreakable direction of a forward and relatively straight line within a boxed up thinking.
On the contrary, the white side represents people who want to explore out of this functional system. I used the other shapes that are circle and triangle to represent this and they move in a less regular pattern compared to the squares. There is more rapid movement flow. This, to me, represents creativity as creativity is the boldness to try new things that may be unconventional and out of the usual straightline-ness.
Nevertheless, we see how the circles, triangles and squares meet together at the middle section between the white and the black. Compared to the other sections of the artwork, I feel like this has the most contrast and colour vibrancy as there is a mix of all colours (red, blue, yellow, black and white).
This is my take on the entire matter of creatives vs non-creatives: in order for functionality, we must all combine strengths to form one harmonious picture. Those who are called to enjoy the supposedly labelled “rigid” subjects like maths and science must work together with those who enjoy doing creative work like being a designer or a film maker as both sides have their own beauty to their individual professions. We have seen this in Singapore culture of how we diversely accept all races in harmony, leading us to grow and progress rapidly as a nation. Similarly, creatives and logical thinkers need to work together for the beauty of art and maths/science to come out.
