weekend artwalk

i jumped at the chance to visit the quiet, laid back Wessex estate when i learnt that there will be 14 art studios opening to the public over the weekends. Apparently, it’s an annual event since 2006, i didn’t know how i could have miss it all these years.

Here are some of the pictures taken yesterday... not that many this time round as i didn’t get the chance to ask for photography permission from all the artists. Also, it started raining soon after we got there and so, not many of the estate too.

The first studio that i visited belonged to Marisa Keller. i first came to know about her work from OH! Open House exhibition in 2009. Her works were amongst my favourite but i didn’t manage to get her name then. However, when i stepped into her studio yesterday, i recognised her style almost instantly. What a pleasant surprise!

Some pictures of the estates around Woking Road.

Glimpse of an artist’s painting at the balcony.

Love the greenery around here, but not the mozzies.

CdeM Atelier & Art School. i love the Cities Of Our World series (top), every piece was layered in vibrant colours, so full of life. Also, check out the paint-splattered flooring, it has got some real character.

Jelly bean looking chairs abandoned in front of one of the buildings, breaking the otherwise black, white and green surrounding.

This is from Milica Bravacic-Milla. Her studio housed impressive artworks and interesting home decorations. It feels like there’s a gem in every corner :)

Let’s chill.

The red carpet treatment.

Black and white paintings, with a signature single spot of red, belong to the friendly artist Dick Lim, aka Chye. Definitely a style that i would remember and recognise instantly for years to come.

And lastly, view from the artist’s balcony before it started pouring real bad.

Artwalk@Wessex

24 and 25 March 2012

Wessex Estate

light meets asia

This month, Marina Bay Waterfront lights up to awesomeness with the theme of “Light Meets Asia”, for the second year running of sustainable light art festival.

Garden of Light by Hexogon Solution, Singapore – an animated projection on the facade of Art Science Museum.

Beautiful rows of palm trees along the waterfront, not part of the light installation.

Coral Garden by Olivia d’Aboville, Philippines – a field of “coral” constructed from transparent cocktail stirrers that draws attention to the negative impact of human practices on the world’s coral reefs.

The Light Dam by Uno Lai, Taiwan – an interactive installation powered by solar panels that responds to visitors’ movements.

5QUID by Ryf Zaini, Singapore – a squid-like creature emerging from the waters, seeking to meld into the urban landscape.

Deck Journey by Zulkifle Mahmod, Singapore – sit back and enjoy the waterfront view that completes with customised soundscape (from the lamp-shaped thingy above the chair).

The Gate by Li Hui, China (now one of my favourite installation artists after the Chimera exhibition) – hundreds of laser beams framing the doorway to create the sense of a symbolic passage and a path to enlightenment.

Crystallised by Andrew Daly and Katherine Fife, Australia – a canopy of 5,000 edge-lit acrylic rods evoking a night sky in transition.

Classification Pending by Craig Walsh, Australia – Mythical marine life forms appear to exist mysteriously after dark in the waters of Marina Bay. The creatures projection looked unbelievably real in the water and feels somewhat eerie especially at the quiet corner of the waterfront. Probably my favourite installation of all.

Singapore Student Showcase in one of the shipping containers.

Sweet Home by Aleksandra Stratimirovic, Sweden – Rows of dainty lampshades evoke a warm, homely atmosphere in an urban setting that looked like a cafe from far.

Immersion by Marin Bevz and Kathryn Clifton, Australia – an LED strip lighting “water fountain” that glows and changes in tandem with the visitor’s movement.

Light Of The Merlion by OCUBO, Portugal – interactive colouring (by the visitors) that projects real-time onto its surface... Probably the most hideous looking installation of all. i think the poor merlion best stays clean and white.

ilight marina bay

9 March – 1 April 2012

7:30pm – 11:00pm

Marina Bay Waterfront

Although there were only a few installations that i really like (and would actually remember) but my friend and i did enjoy ourselves as we strolled along the waterfront; exchanging views, intrigued by some of the installations and taking in the beautiful sight. And of course the good weather on Saturday, with surprising cool breezes, played an important part too. Definitely recommended.

*Art installations information extracted from the event brochure

art in my hood

OH! Open House is right here at my hood this year with the theme: Occupy Tiong Bahru. For those who has been following my blog, you know how much i love where i stay... and so this is going to be a long post with 31 photos(!) of arts, flats and neighbourhood. Here we go :)

Flat No. 1:

The Laboratory of Waste Management by artist/scientist Isabelle Desjeux. This is a lab recreated in bathroom with installation piece about managing waste. Showing also, another experiment on trying to grow sprouts from used magazines (bottom left pic).

Kuih-muih by Tye Sokkuan. A hand-stitched hanging mobile made up of local snacks. Fellow visitors were exclaiming how pretty it was when they stepped into the bedroom :)

Flat No. 2:

This is one of the first Art Deco flats built by the Singapore Improvement Trust (SIT) in 1930s (read more here). The architecture style is just beautiful, i wish i am staying in one of these instead of the new flats. Look at the awesome spacious semi-round balcony and its view.

Transient by Cindy Salim. Installation of paper mache of everyday objects hanging above the kitchen island display.

Keeping by Cindy Salim. (in the fridge)

Giant poster by the stairway: God Sent (image of Tiong Bahru slum before the Bukit Ho Swee fire) by Zhao Renhui.

Total opposite style of high rise condominiums just a short distance away in the otherwise nostalgic art walkabout.

On the first floor of the next flat as we waited for the previous group to finish viewing.

Flat No. 3: i can’t recall the owner’s name but remember him as a very friendly guy with big bowl of candies welcoming visitors at his door.

Unconsciousness: Consciousness by Lavender Chang. A 6-hour long exposure photograph of the homeowner who slept in the nude.

Heimlich by Jying Tan. A bedroom with recreated contents using clear tape. It feels rather eerie, reminds me of paper furnitures meant for the dead.

Detour No. 7 by Ang Song Nian. Everything’s arranged so neatly.

Not part of the art, but i was surprised to see such a long spacious stretch of corridor space at the back of the kitchen. Umm... old flats are indeed very roomy as compared to new ones.

Flat No. 4:

Mother Tongue by Green Zeng. For those who doesn’t read the chinese characters, it says: “Speak more dialacts, Speak less Mandarin”, which is the opposite of the famous Speak-Mandarin Campaign slogan “Speak more Mandarin, Speak less dialacts” in the 70s (or 80s?).

I’m a Kway, You’re a Kway by Stephen Black. The artist had two trays of Ang Ku Kueh (a popular local snacks), one filled with the usual kind that we see from the market and was offered to the visitors (pic 1), and the other made from mold based on his thumbprint (2nd pic). Printed versions of the thumbprint kway can also be found on the wall and fridge. Before we left, the artist passed us his namecard that reads: Stephen Black, Kwaytologist. Such a cute title that he gave himself :)

On our way to the next flat through narrow back alleys.

Exterior of the 1930s Art Deco flats.

Flat No. 5:

An interactive light installation that tracked visitors by Race Krehel.

Den of Beauties by Marc Gabriel Loh. Definitely not something one would expect from its title.

Old mailboxes on the first floor.

Monkey God Temple stop:

Matter and Principle by Gilles Massot and Mark Wong.

Flat No. 6

This last flat was filled with art pieces collected from the homeowner. Basically, the art pieces were everywhere from the entrance to every corner of the house that you can see.

Although i preferred this year walkabout over the previous two years (1st & 2nd) – the neighbourhood is more interesting; we get to see the interior of these old flats which are very different from the modern ones (though it might not be a good thing as there’s a tenancy that visitors will get distracted and overlooked the art pieces); the participating flats are nearer to one another, thus walking distance is shorter – but i have to say that, the waiting time was ridiculously long. i was there at 4pm but only finished slightly after 9pm. That’s more than 5 hours in total for an 2-hour art walk.

Perhaps the organiser can consider selling online tickets with proper allocated time slot for the walk next year? That would definitely save us some time.

OH! Open House: Occupy Tiong Bahru

18,19, 25, 26 February 2012

4 – 8pm

Tour starts at Tiong Bahru CC