‘PHOTOGRAPHY + FILM’
SEEN-UN-SEEN: LIGHT-BASED VISUAL WORKS
Curated by Fine Arts lecturers Gilles Massot and Toh Hun Ping from LASALLE, “SEEN – UN – SEEN – An exhibition of light-based visual works” features work from LASALLE’s students and will run from Thursday 18th March at 5.30pm till Thursday 1st April 2010 at the Praxis Space in the school itself.
The phrase opens a Pandora jar, one in which the mystery of the image made of light has remained hidden at the bottom. Light-based images are all around us today in the form of photographs, cinema and videos. Just as the calamities freed by Pandora forever changed the fate of humankind, the multiple forms of the light-based image technology have given shape to a society that has no equivalent to whatever existed before. The predominance of vision over any other physiological senses has even given rise to the concept of “ocularcentrism”, to define a society in which look and visual information largely define human interaction. Yet, however common and widespread those images might have become, particularly in urban environments, the mystery of the light-based image remains whole. What is it that these images are showing? The thing recorded or the illusion of it? And by seeing so much of the world, do we actually know it better? Beyond the seen, what could the unseen be/revealed?
OPENING DATE & TIME: Thu 18 Mar, 5.30pm
DATE: Fri 19 Mar – Thu 1 Apr
TIME: 11am – 5pm (Closed on Mon)
VENUE: Praxis Space, Block H Level 1 #H101, LASALLE College of the Arts, 1 McNally Street
SIFR ESSENTIALS: LOOKBOOK
Possibly one of the better homegrown labels seen around, Know It Nothing’s in-house label SIFR recently shot their lookbook for SIFR Essentials-a basics line created by the dynamic trio Suraj Melwani, Chris Fussner and Daryl Chan. Combining the best materials for the hot and humid weather with lightweight materials, quality and finishing is never a compromise with the label and judging by the tastefully-shot lookbook, we can rely on SIFR to bring comfort and style into the same category.
SIFR is available at Know It Nothing, 51 Haji Lane
Creative Director: Suraj Melwani, Daryl Chan
Art Director: Chris Fussner
Photographer: Djulian Chng, Jovian Lim
Models: Henry Golding, Stephanie Liu
Styling: Darren Lu Kuang
Special Thanks To: Arthur Chua
RCGNIZE! -The First Edition
The time has come for our first ever party set to happen on the 20th of March 2010 and we cannot be more excited!
RCGNTN has teamed up with the party demons of Sup to bring you what is possibly the best street party ever. Starting the celebrations at 7.30pm, the quiet ho-hum Haji Lane will transform before your beady eyes to become the loudest and most people packed street in Singapore.
In line with our main purpose of showcasing local talent, RCGNIZE!- The First Edition aims to bring more awareness to the talent our country has to offer. The event will see a stellar line-up of artists who will be returning street art to the streets in a live art demonstration featuring the likes of local heroes Antz, ZERO, Sheryo, Clogtwo, Anwar as well as The Killer Gerbil. Definitely a sight to see.
Not only that, we’ve got a photography exhibition that showcases the different aspects of local urban culture brought to light by photographers Haiqal (showcasing his work with fixie event T.O.S), Bum Ariffin (on his photos of Baybeats) and Juffrie Friday (showcasing his passion with skate photography) inside Sup Clothing itself. The store will also house works by sneaker customizers Hypethetic and Lazy as well as toy customizer Phu, doing and showing what they do best.
And who can resist FREE stuff? Doorgifts for the first 50 and if you like what we do and support our cause, do spend on our lovely limited edition tees (only 40 made!) and you may just stand to win some sneakers from our sponsors New Balance and PF Flyers as well as Hundreds tees from Boards n Stuff. Damn even I want in on that!
On top of that, it’s going to be a hell of a party with help from our sponsors (New Balance, PF Flyers, Tiger, Bacardi, Redbull, Boards n Stuff and Stage57- THANK YOU!) as well as the very generous and very crazy guys of Sup Clothing.
Here’s to an awesome night!
HEIDER ISMAIL
Having landed a solo exhibition, “You’re Standing On Our Streets” sponsored by Carlsberg and Converse just last year, 21 year old Heider Ismail looks set to have big things in front of him. Having established himself as a pretty dope BMX photographer, what I love most about his photos are his excellent composition and play on lighting. As you know BMX riders are pretty crazy, acquiring tons of air and are friggin’ fast that they are almost a blur, this guy can capture them at their peak and bring beauty into the extreme sport.
Perhaps one of his strongest points about his photography is his use of lighting in plenty of his night shots. No easy feat, it injects the “epic” juice into the photograph without missing a crucial detail. His secret? Trial and error. Check out more of his work over at trnsm.blogspot.com
RECAP: NOISE SINGAPORE 2010 SHOWCASE
NOISE Singapore, an initiative by the NAC and in their fifth year running is known to many as a platform for Singaporean artists, photographers and musicians to showcase their work, and if good enough, chosen for their apprenticeship program where some of the industry’s respected figures play the role of mentor to these aspiring talent. And true to their word, the NOISE Singapore Showcase 2010 houses some of the most interesting work we have seen, many of which we have yet to discover ourselves!
Spotting a couple of familiar pieces such as Dory’s custom playmobils (third from top), there were many pieces that were pretty eye-catching, one of which was Muhammed Herman who was chosen for the NOISE Apprenticeship Programme. Set in a wet market where many would overlook as a place of interest, the photographer injects much intrigue into the marketplace where the simple act of preparing and selling meat was one that deserved attention.
Our pictures do not do justice to the original work, so head on down to level 3 of Raffles City Shopping Centre and give them your support, or give NOISE a click to check out their showcases in full resolution. The exhibition is currently running until 10th March.
IVAN TAN: FADE
Local photographer Ivan Tan (whom we interviewed a while back) transforms the regular family portrait into one that propels one to think about the essence of family. Dedicated to his grandfather, the photographer takes us to his past that he so fondly remembers (and possibly many of us can relate to) of his “first family” and relating the feelings of being ‘torn’ from them to those of being adopted by a new family, though they were his real parents.
“I was brought up in a quasi-liberal Peranakan family that had women dominating bulk of the household of my growing up. The only father figure I had and recalled was my grandfather, my Gong Gong, who still lives on today despite a twin pack of Dunhill Reds everyday. I think of him as an African owl, discerning, charismatic, but very, very silent. Subtle.
Women were the new patriarch in this other family I had. They had the final say, or thought they did. My grandmother, or Mama, was the Godfather of the family. It was only so because the only man in the household didn’t care to voice out his silent opinions much. The other male figure in the house, me, myself, was just contented with suckling his pacifier and drinking warm Ribena. I was always seen with my pacifier.
She taught me how to hold my first pencil, sharpened my colored pencils, but never saw through my holding of a pen. I was still seen with my pacifier then.
I also remember us watching Wheel of Fortune together, every evening without fail. Mama and Gong Gong could always solve the puzzles comfortably before the contestants did. They never spoke a word of Mandarin. Then we would switch on to teletext while they stared intently at the pixelated screen trying to find their numbers in the day’s 4D lottery draw.
I was wrenched away from the nestling warmth of my Mama’s bosom, the only family I knew. Till then, I only saw my parents seven times; once every year during Chinese New Year. My “real parents”, they said, wanted to take me home. I was torn, devastated, destroyed. And I knew my Gong Gong was too.
But he never said a thing. ‘I love you, take care of yourself, come visit us often.’ That day, I learnt that some things were never meant to be said. I left my Mama’s house with my pacifier in my mouth, crying.
I hated my new home. I hated the coldness of my new house, my new room. I hated how the cold winds in the new East Coast flat frequently made me feel naked, alone, and vulnerable. My parents never kissed me goodnight or hugged me or watched Wheel of Fortune with me. I wasn’t even allowed to suckle on my favourite pacifier. I would cry to myself to bed, or crawl out of bed to telephone Mama. “Mama, I want to go back to Mama house. I don’t like the food here. They don’t talk to me much. Nobody teaches me English spelling anymore. I want to go back to Mama house.”
Then I’ll be caught by my parents, chided and sent to bed. Why are you crying for? What’s wrong with you?”
GEN CHUA
Genevieve Chua may best be known for her work such as Raised As A Pack Of Wolves which was shown at the last Singapore M1 Fringe Festival as well as most recently, her photography exhibition Full Moon and Foxes that was exhibited at the National Museum of Singapore. But what we want to show you today is not her photography, but rather highlight her other passion- drawing.
Those who have seen her past exhibition “As Brutal As” would be familiar with her expert display of technicalities and detail with the pencil, mostly exploring the deeper and darker feelings of the human soul through her work. Gen’s ability to communicate her message through different mediums leave us in anticipation on what she is about to show us next. Check out her interview on RCGNTN here.
EATING AIR REVIEW
Eating Air (1999) the movie runs synonymous with Ah bengs & ah lians, gangsters, motorcycles, kungfu, various dialects, gang fights and some pretty outdated clothing. The Kelvin Tong film follows the lives of two teenagers during the hottest month in the history of Singapore, exploring the joys and pangs of teenage love, while giving it a Singaporean twist. Check out what our friends over at lolsingaporelol have to say about the movie.
BRIAN GOTHONG TAN: VIRGO
‘Virgo’ is Brian Gothong Tan’s take on the poem by Ng Yi-Sheng’s book “last boy”. Brian Gothong Tan has gone into many areas of multimedia such as photography, short films, theatre and various 2d and 3d works, and he is well known for his eccentric ideas and use of multimedia which have put him on the map as one of Singapore’s most prolific multimedia artists.
For more of his work, check out BrianGothongTan.com.
SERENE TEH: PARKOUR MOTION REEL
You know how it is shocking when you watch something so amazing and cannot believe that it is done by a Singaporean, and then feel extremely proud afterward? This video brings out one of those moments.
Serene Teh’s ‘Parkour Motion Reel‘ has been blogged about by numerous blogs (such as the very popular Hypebeast), mentioned by twitter-ers such as Demi Moore (!), featured in online newspapers as well as garnering a mad rise in views, hitting 285K views in just 19 days.
Meant as a school project that went through 4 weeks of work, the graphic design degree student illustrated the entire reel frame-by-frame with a technical pen, animating the traceur by folding and flipping the corresponding pieces of paper. As the traceur runs up walls and jumps over cars with Dr Dre’s rap beat in the background, the concept brings out the beauty of the art of parkour through its simplicity, not mentioning the video. Though it could be shot a little cleaner and faster, we here at RCGNTN applaud her originality and effort as well as putting Singapore on the map!
