We have been so mesmerized by this young local artist’s work, we put one of his pieces on the cover. He photographs Singapore’s buildings, then does aluminium prints of them. The result is both beautiful and eerie. Here he tells about photography as a medium and local art versus art abroad.

 

 

Back then, I thought photography was easy, and I could not fathom why something so simple was categorized as a form of art. So I borrowed a camera from a friend one day, went trigger happy around town and printed out a few of the photographs. One thing led to another and my attention shifted from the camera to the printed material. I started to explore different types of mark-making.

 

 

My work responds to the complex issues surrounding urbanity that present themselves in our landscape and architecture today. I want the photographs to look aged like they are from the past but set in a nostalgic, fictitious and perhaps bleak not-so-distant future.

 

This piece was actually taken when a building was in the midst of construction. Taking a cue from the works of [German photographers and conceptual artists] Bernd and Hilla Becher, I started experimenting. For this particular piece, I wanted to portray a feeling of claustroprobia and evoke a sense of bleakness and weariness around the everchanging landscape, with the addition of newer buildings to the ever dire state of the city.

 

I usually refrain from classifying art as European or Asian. What’s important is the thought process and the execution. I am working as an art technician for the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore and I work very closely with curators, local and international artists throughout the year. From my work experience, visits to shows and galleries outside of Singapore, I personally feel that there is little to no difference between the contemporary art works from Europe to the ones here.