Subtractive Poetry

 “When you cut into the present, the future leaks out.”

William Burroughs

I thought it would be interesting to set parameters when playing with newspaper blackouts, and so I combined subtractive poetry with six word memoirs. I chose to black out text from a series of 'News in Brief' stories and to reduce these down to six of the original words to tell a new story.  This is a tool that could be applied to assist in the creative naming of artwork, exhibitions, or personal design philosophies.

Six word memoirs are a concentrated form of storytelling. The idea is that stories can be communicated effectively and more poetically through a limited word count. Writing six word memoirs is fun and addictive, finding the six magical words within one short newspaper story is even better.

http://www.smithmag.net/sixwords/

Chinatown Vinyl Squad

Kult Magazine showcased a series of artworks at a group exhibition at Zui Hong Lou Bar ‘Chinatown Vinyl Squad’ over the weekend. Inspired by vintage Chinese vinyl record covers from the 70's and 80's, twenty-five local and international artists mixed mediums to draw, paint, silkscreen and collage new pieces of art. Launched in conjunction with Kult Magazine's 13th Issue - Memory, these artworks represent a "time traveling mash-up" of culture.

Long Beach : The Showdown

Chilli versus Pepper Crab inspired digital collage from last weekend's Chinatown Vinyl Squad are for sale online at Kult Store.

  

Limited Edition of 25 signed prints, $150, framed $200 

http://store.kultmagazine.com.sg/product/long-beach-the-showdown

https://www.facebook.com/events/1449585161941812/

Sketchbooking

Packing up house and flicking through my old sketchbooks. It's interesting to see what you were playing with creatively in the past to see if there are links between then and now. These illustrations were playing with with line and shadows. For nothing in particular, would be fun to play with double journal; use these as a basis for something new integrating text or colour.

Molly Wallis 2010

Molly Wallis 2010

Cardboard as Currency

 

 

Cardboard as Currency is a photo essay that looks at the social invisibility of cardboard collectors within an old Chinese neighbourhood in Singapore, exhibiting that compassion fatigue is endemic in the developed world. Social issues in Singapore are abound, but also well hidden - at first glance, the country is wealthy, tidy and well organised. This photo essay communicates the relationship between people and place, and shows a generational shift in social responsibility and shows differing attitudes towards the social issues of homelessness, an aging population, family responsibility and social welfare. 

Selected photographs are exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore from February 15 - 26 as part of the Cities and Their Thesis exhibition.

Design Crush :: Maria Walf

      

Maria Walf is a textile designer who specialises in screen printing, recalling everyday objects "viewed through the lens of her minimal European aesthetic." I have a crush on her clean yet kitsch style, and her signature use of neon colour pops over monochromatic backgrounds and motifs. Currently her works are being exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore. Cities and Their Thesis :: ICAS Singapore 15 - 26 February, 2014

 

Urban Camping

“The city is seen imaginatively as the heart of contemporary darkness [...] a jungle of brick, stone and smoke, 
with its greedy predators and apathetic victims, its brutal indifference to either communal value or individual feeling."  
  Nochlin, L. (1971) Realism. Penguin Books : London

In a failed attempt to get away from the city over Chinese New Year, Molly and Chad pitched a tent in the alleyways and carparks of Tiong Bahru Estate. Naming their adventure Urban Camping, and armed with a camera and two iPhones, Molly and Chad shot a series of dissociated holiday snaps, capturing the isolation they experienced, alone in an abandoned suburb.

Why do we live in cities so full of life and possibility, yet feel so alone? Artist Edward Hopper explored these themes through his realist paintings. We are faced with the antithesis of city dwelling – a feeling of disconnection, isolation and aloneness that accumulates as brooding sentiments of anti-urbanism.

New Beginnings

"Aquarius is the sign that represents the future, hopes and wishes manifest [...] 
if you ever wondered when is the best time for a New Year's resolution, it is definitely now, 
on the Chinese New Year, which brings a swell of powerful waves we can use to make things happen." 

Gahl Sasson (Kabbalah, Astrology and Mysticism)

Today Venus moves out of Retrograde, the New Moon moves into Aquarius, and it's the first day of the Chines New Year of the Horse. I'm thinking it's pretty auspicious all round. What better day for new beginnings and fresh starts?

Mindfulness is awareness, acceptance and letting go, a check-in on thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions. Meraki describes doing something with soul, creativity, or love — when you put “something of yourself” into what you’re doing, whatever it may be. Mindfulness plus Meraki is a journey of creativity, love and acceptance, a conscious letting go of judgement, status and attachment.

This year, 2014, I pledge to live my life with mindfulness and meraki. Engage in creative endeavours regardless of merit, to play with art making across disciplines regardless of ability. 

Happy New Year!! x