My Line is Emo: Final

My story for this project is my admission into NTU ADM.

Surprise

It started when I got the acceptance letter from NTU through email. I was expecting a rejection letter like most of my applications and could not believe what I was reading. “Congratulations” it wrote. I was in disbelief. Not sure whether it was real or I was just seeing things; I had to get confirmation from a friend that it was real. She said it was and there was this burst of emotion after she too congratulated me.

Tenseness

There was still a few weeks before the official opening of school. I got really stress and tense over the thought of going back to school. Firstly because I graduated from a design school, I knew vaguely what lies ahead – the late sleepless nights and the spending on overpriced materials. Secondly it was because it is University School of Art, Media and design, everyone here is definitely elite to be admitted into the school. Why out of all those people did they chose me? I am not talented at all. To stand on the same level as everyone there really pressurized me.

Translating this feeling onto the strip, it was like many needles poking at certain points to keep me in place and match myself to others.

Jolly

I participated in the orientation camp with much doubt. I did not think it was going to help me with making friends. It would be awkward was what I thought. However, turns out, it exceeded my expectations. ADM orientation camp was the most amazing camp I ever been in my entire life. The results that the seniors produced was outstanding. It blew my mind.

I used bubbles because it reminds people of the times they had fun. Bubbles are always fun. I have never met anyone that hate bubbles. Also it is such an adorable word that is impossible to say it in an angry tone. I also tried to create a rhythm to the arrangement of bubbles to look as if they are dancing – like what we did at the end of the orientation camp.

Bitterness

Sadly, I was late for my first presentation of my university life. I worked really hard to make sure I did everything on time and ended up being too sleep deprived I overslept. I felt bitter about the situation. It was unfair – the same feeling of being discipline as an innocent child. So to directly translate that feeling I dipped a cane in ink and whacked the crap out of crepe paper.

Regret

“I should’ve not slept.” “I should’ve slept more.” “I should’ve slept beside the alarm.” I thought of many things that I could have done that would have saved my 20% presentation grades. But time cannot rewind and no matter how much I want to fix my situation, it cannot become what it was before. Thus, the strip is patched all over with a torn print.

Care

I went home and cried to my family about what had happened. The black parts represent my troubled soul. If you look closer you can see the hairy texture as if it is reaching out for help. And the white paint smooths the texture down; representing the comfort and care my family provided me. 

Curating Self: Final

Task 1: Object and representation of self

I had been playing the violin for as long as I could remember; from the age of three to be exact. Going for lessons every week for 17 years has made the instrument become a part of me.

Opportunites

It really opened many opportunities for me. During my learning years, I got to travel to many countries such as Australia and Korea. Also by completing all 8 Grades meant that I could teach the skill to others in the future.

With a medium shot I was able to show the enjoyment I had from the oversea trips through facial expression. I also chose to take the horizon of the sky and ocean to represent the countless possibilities that I could do with my musical skills.

Lonely

I started taking solo classes instead of group classes because everyone in my group class was advancing at lightning speed. I ended up lagging behind. Being not talented at all and I felt left out.

Taking a long shot from a high vantage point gives a sense of isolation. Translating the feeling of loneliness from being left in the dust by child prodigies. The waves and the beach creates a contrast in texture. Those kids were already sailing the seas while I still tread on oncoming waves.

Trapped

Playing music was really fun but learning the Violin was not easy. It hurt my jaw, my hands cramp up, the Rosin made me sneeze, most likely the noise I made was unsatisfactory. I felt trapped by my extremely slow improvement.

I decided to make use of tonal difference with lighting to depict this emotion. A contrast is created between the background and the foreground. The background being bright and colorful while the foreground is much more dark and dull.

Task 2: My World

During my childhood my family often came to West Coast Park for picnics on weekends, sometimes with friends or relatives. Having not been there in a long time and thought to take the chance to visit the park. I wanted to capture the  fun and energy of the place.

Volleyball

As the shot captures the players in the middle of motion, we tend to anticipate their movement.

The foreground, middle ground and background in this photo are very clear-cut. The people playing volleyball in the foreground. The trees in the middle ground and the sky in the background. These create some depth to the photo.

The Pyramid

I took this as a framing shot through the hexagonal shape made by the ropes. Then I thought it was a perfect example of multiple viewpoints with the lines criss-crossing one another. It made the photo quite messy but the boy in blue attracts attention and guides your sight from right to left.

Cycling Family

This is a one point perspective from taken from eye level. It also communicates movement with the swaying bicycles. There is also some depth to the image due to the converging lines.

Scattered Belongings

This image does not communicate much energy but I thought it was interesting that people would leave their belongings scattered around the field. As if to say they were carefree and had so much fun that they dumped their things wherever they like. Also that the place is friendly and safe enough to do so.

Pandora: Final

Zing

Definition – energy, enthusiasm, or liveliness.

Synonyms – sparkle, relish, eagerness.

My intepretation – A fancy word for magic. With a touch of wonder.

Front, Side, Back and Top view respectively
2D Analysis

The idea was to raise curiosity and wonder in the viewer. Levitating the marble piece on a flimsy looking wire mesh seemed to be an impossible feat. I imagine the viewer to be amaze and curious to find out how the structure could stand on its own.

When viewed from the side the Zing happens as they will realize it is being held by a piece wedge between the wire mesh and the marble. Even with the magic unveiled it still is unbelievable because of the lightness of the dominant and sub-ordinate being porous and transparent respectively.

Possible Applications:

Creeping Plant Pot
Clock Tower

Pandora: Final (Not)

With the use of actual materials, the Zing becomes much more distinct.

Front view

In the front view, the sub-ordinate is missing. Only the Dominant and sub-dominant could be seen so it seems that the sub-dominant is floating (at an angle). But how? Strange…

Side view 1
Side view 2

Even from the side view you can hardly tell what is actually going on. You see the sub-ordinate peeking out from the back but it does not answer your question of how the sub-dominant is floating.

Back view
Top view

The sub-ordinate can only be seen clearly from the top and back view. This is the ZING part where you go “oooooohhh~” and be amaze that a mere wire-frame can support such a ‘heavy stone’.

(If I have time, I will try to fix the tilted ‘marble’ block. Because now the entire structure is very loosely attached. Looks like it will fall over any minute.)