Singapore Biennale 2008

This is the first time I have been to a Biennale and I would say I feel each art work certainly has its own draw factor - good or bad.

The two main sites for the exhibitions, the City Hall and South Beach Development, are also very appropriate for many of the art work. The City Hall offers a rather quaint environment and the allocation of a single room to each exhibition actually sets the individual exhibit apart from each other. As for the South Beach Development, the site is rather rustic and it has a "raw" feel to it.

The exhibits in City Hall I feel are more "refined" and "sophisticated" to a certain extend and thus are very suitable to be exhibited in City Hall which eludes a sombre feel. The South Beach Developement on the other hand, has exhibits that are rather "raw" like the "Beauty and the Beast" exhibit which comprises of images of sculptures made of chewing gum.

On the whole, I feel there is a rather good mix of photography, sculptures, installations and videos on show at the Singapore Biennale 2008 and the choice of site for each installation compliments the work of each individual artiste to enhance the overall visual experience.

One of my favourite installions would be the "Impossibility of the Superstring Theory". It is actually a drawing installation by Joshua Yang at the South Beach Development.

Yang's work was actually influenced by the scientific conundrum of the Superstring Theory. His method of working is based on a strict system: 1) The line must not intersect itself at any point, 2) the line must be contiuous and have no breaks. From the above picture, we can see that he pays alot of attention to small details and is interesting how his art interacts with the pre-existing features at the installation site.

The South Beach Development is originally a site slated for revamp sometime next year. As such, the place is rather run down. The area allocated to Yang for his work is rather big but at certain corners around the site, there are rust marks and stains on the ceilings and floors. However, he has amazingly incorporated such imperfections of the site into his work, blending such spots with paint to incorporate them as part of his overall installation.

From the above photo, you can see that much effort has been put in to incorporate both the floor and ceiling as part of his installation as well. Yang has maximised the use of the space allocated for his work and this gives viewers a feel of continuation and flow.

It would be interesting to see this artiste's work again perhaps at another site. I am sure he would be able to come up with yet another spectacular piece of installation.

However, there are also installations that I do not really know how to appreciate. I believe it has its own merits but it just didnt suit my taste and I do not know how to appreciate it.

One example would be the "September Sweetness" by Thein, Chaw Ei; Streitmatter-Tran, Rich and Ko, Aung.

When I was there at the installation site at South Beach Development, I was greeted with a stale and weird smell and a site of white shabbles.

It is hard to imagine that these were actually sugar blocks.

When I referred to the guide book, I realise that these white sugar blocks were actually used to build this pagoda above. "Three artists worked closelt with structural engineers and cooks to come up with a solid sugar composition that could then be poured into moulds to create the final structure." It sure does seem like a great deal of work was put into it.

Sugar was actually deliberately used as it is fragile and could be used to establish the idea "of a slow loss of systemic structure (in Myanmar) that has been in pace for centuries".

The concept behind this installation is good but I feel it would be better if the installation had not disintegrated at such a rapid rate. It is a pity that a photo documentation of the initial installation was not available at the site to allow comparision betweeen the current state of the installation and the initial work of the artiste. I think a comparison would allow a better understanding of the artistes intentions and concept behind their work.

Another disappointment on the installation is that visitors were warned against the presence of bees (which were suppose to be part of the installation) but all we saw were...

Dead bees stuck to the installation.

However, due credit must be granted to the choice of site as it 1) Exposes the installation to natural climate to bring about the intended deterioration 2) Enable easy clean up of the place after the exhibit 3) Prevents pests like ants from infesting other exhibits on show.

Singapore Biennale 2008 has certainly exposed me to a greater variety of art and I am certainly looking forward to Singapore Biennale 2009.

Solemn

Solemn

Many would relate the use of a josssticks to that of a religious purpose and I believe a place of worship is a solemn place.

I think the low-key look of this photo and limited darker hues certainly adds on to the theme of Solemn The smoke adds on a additional visual dimension to the photo.

Happy

Happy

Initially I thought this flower looks like it is "dancing" happily with the skirt at the bottom flaring out. However, I got to agree that the colour of the flower certainly does not seem very vibrant.

Therefore, this picture was unable to fully express the theme on Happy.

Calm

Calm

Usually the presence of flame gives the idea that a place is warm or there is hope. However, I chose to use a flame to depict the theme on Calm instead.

My intention was to bring across the theme using the "stationary flame" on the candle which is not flicking or swaying from side to side, thus giving the impression that the surrounding is calm.

Progressive

Progressive

My initial idea was to show progression by depicting seedlings growing out towards the sun. But seems like its too cluttered now with so many seedlings in the picture and there is no clear focus. On top of that, the lack of a light spot (depicting the sun) seems to land the image in a very flat look. I would try to improve on this by having only one seedling growing out of the pot and into the direction of the sun.

I think that would work better for this theme.

For this second attempt, the focus is only on one seedling, hence reducing the effect of clutter. The seedling also seems to be growing towards the light and through this, I hope to bring across the idea of progression whereby a seedling actively seeks the source of light in-order to grow and progress onto an adult plant.

Lonely

Lonely

The single background against the gloomy sky I felt actually accentuted the idea of lonliness of the single blub. However one problem is that the wire the bulb was suspended on is in a diagonal line. Diagonal lines tend to suggest activity and action so might not be too appropriate for this theme.

Perhaps a horizontal line across the pic might work better.

I think somehow this pic with the cable running across in a horizontal manner does indeed look better but my concern now is whether it would look better if the bulb is more towards the right edge of the photo? Somehow I feel that isolating the bulb towards the corner actually accentuates the idea of lonely better. However, placing the bulb in the center of the photo with the vast sky surrounding it also brings out the lonliness of the bulb which is so small in contrast to the sky.

I did another attempt but this time round with a chair.

I deliberate framed this picture in such a way that the chair remains fairly in a corner of the photo and there is light shining in from the other end of the photo. This actually cast a shadow on the chair and further enhances the gloomy, and dull atmosphere surrounding the chair. Through this, I hope to bring across the feeling of lonliness that the chair might be experiencing.

Serene

Serene

Taking a stroll through a path in a forest gives one a serene feel. I added abit of orange wash to it to give it a warmer feel.

Many didnt agree with it.

On second though, I think this photo indeed does look a little blend. Perhaps because everything in the picture seems to be fighting for attention (there doesnt seem to be a focal point) so it looks more distracting rather than serene.

Peace

Peace

The class didnt agree with me that this picture depicts peace well. I was actually trying to capture the morning mist which gives the feeling of a very "tone down" and peaceful morning. Coupled with the orange/blue/purple hue, I thought it further enhances the peacefulness of the picture.

However some commented that they thought it looked more polluted then peaceful. On second look, ya... it does looks a badly polluted area.

Analyzing a Picture

This picture above was taken from the StraitsTimes October 4 2008

Analyzing a Picture

Photojournalism - Photographs used in newspaper and magazines for their documentary and illustrative powers.

Let us first look at the Formal Elements of the photograph.

1) Light quality - In the picture above, we see that the light is coming from the sun (sunlight glare on the protester's head), possibly a mid-day sun since the whole area is generally quite well lit.

2) Focus - The focus of the photo is on the protester and the board he is holding on to. On top of that, viewer's eyes are also drawn to the massive number of protesters in the background and the large USA flag flying on the facade of a building. Notice how these elements falls along the point of section? I believe this photo has been cropped from the original inorder to fit into the space allocated in the newspaper. Since I saw another similar photo which appears larger and we can even see the same protestor's legs.

3) Angel of View - This photo was taken at a slightly above eye level view. It was taken at a slightly elevated angle perhaps to give the viewers a overview of the whole situation. It is particularly interesting that the photographer has taken it seemingly from the perspective of the protester.

4) Composition - As mentioned in point 3, the effective use of 'Rule of thirds' actually brought out the focus of the subjects in the image. Basic elements like the protestor holding a sign, the massive number of protestors on the ground and the USA flag were all present in the photo.

5) Colour - I would say the colour reproduction is rather natural. Since it is suppose to be used for photojournalism, retaining the naturalistic and realistic appeal and colour of the image is important.

How the photo might be read by the audience

Having the photo taken in the morning probably suggest that this issue/incident is of impact to those involved and to express their unhappiness, they staged a protest first thing in the day. Solely based on this photo, it is not certain which day this photo was taken. However whether it is a weekday or weekend, we can see that these people in the photo have taken time off their schedule, putting down their other commitments for the day, to participate in this protest.

Having this photo taken in the day with the sun shining brightly over them also gives the image more life and action as compared to if it was to be taken over a cloudy and gloom sky where the image might have turned out dull and lifeless.

From this photo, the boy holding up a card screaming "I've got a 4.0 GPA..." clearly suggest that he is a protestor. Next, the USA flag hanging from outside the facade of the building suggest that this photo was taken in the USA. Since so many people are gathered on ground at the background, we can infer that it is probably some kind of protest whereby the people are unhappy possibly with the govrnment over some financial issues (since the protestor's card reads "..$90,000 in debt..").

The angle of view seemingly from the protestor's point of view is interesting because it adds an added dimension to the picture. Shooting from the protester's point of view actually gives audience who possibly are experiencing the same precadiment as him to relate better with the whole situation presented. For the general audience, the slightly elevated angle gives a better and clearer pictuer of what is happening on site.

For colours, the natural tone actually provides a realistic visual treatment. This is important as it gives more life and realism to the picture. In contrast, a black and white treatment to the photo might have rendered it as a old news or something that is not as current. A high colour saturated photo might also be inappropriate for a picture depicting something that is more somber and serious.

From the above, the discussion is based solely on looking at the picture and no reference or what so ever was made with the text/copy that accopanied this photograph. If the audience has relooked at this image after reading the text/copy, they might decode the image differently or analysis it differently.