Art history – Art Noveau Tiling Response

Growing up, my neighborhood was filled with two very special plants-bougainvillea and spider lilies. Bougainvilleas, with their bright attractive colors, captured and intrigued me. I was rather surprised when i found out that the vibrant pinks were leaves instead of flowers. Spider lilies, on the other hand, were droopy, and on hot summer days, shriveled up to look rather brown and lifeless. I thought it was a fern like plant, or a mimosa even, where its leaves will react to the heat. I was even more shocked to find out that the spider lily, despite not having the elegance and beauty associated with flora, was indeed a flower.

These two plants are at exact opposites; one resembling a flower, yet not being one, and another resembling leaves but ending up to be a flower, cheekily flirting with people’s expectations and realities.

I chose these two because their contrasting natures act as a metaphor for the complexities of Singapore society. On the outside, without much knowledge, we would only see Singapore as a rich, high living cost country. We would also only recognize and identify Singapore via our national branding and tourism image. However, only upon more understanding, do we realize that our assumptions and understandings are fundamentally flawed. Only with more awareness and knowledge do we finally get to comprehend Singapore’s true nature.

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Bougainvillea, commonly found in leaf cluster of three, have a very solitary, compact shape.

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In contrast, spider lilies have a very unique, asymmetrical shape.

I was really inspired by contrasting abstract shape of the spider lilies and the regularity of the bougainvilleas, thus choosing to piece them together.

I added some stylized leaf patterns to tie the contrasting shapes together, using curvilinear forms to further enhance the style of art noveau.

I chose earthy muted colors to resemble the colours used in that period.

single tile for pattern