exhibition Archives - Page 2 of 3

Exquisite Corpse curated by Antigoon

Dutch illustrator Antigoon has recently curated an excellent looking new exhibition at Walls Gallery in Amsterdam, open until 24th August, as an extension of his Exquisite Corpse website (last image, shown below). I love referring to the Exquisite Corpse as a creative exercise in my classes and his website was able to showcase the illustrations brilliantly.

For his new exhibition, Antigoon asked ten of his favourite illustrators – including Hedof, Nick Liefhebber and Joren Joshua – to work together in two’s, and for each pair to create a limited edition risograph print together. Just like the online project, the illustrators worked in sequence, with one creating the top half of the print before passing it on to their partner, with the partner only allowed to see a very small slither of what had already been drawn. The result is 5 prints which can see in totality at his Behance page, which are also up for sale.

[Print #1: Nick Liefhebber vs. Olivier Vrancken; Print #2: Aron Vellekoop León vs. Hedof]

Melbourne Now

Today’s post is courtesy of Jaime Pih of The Bride Gene. Jaime posted up lots of pictures of Melbourne Now on her Facebook page and I was really inspired by the amazing work that was done by the artists. It’s an event that’s happening in Australia from 22 November 2013 to 23 March 2014 that celebrates the latest art, architecture, design, performance and cultural practice to reflect the complex cultural landscape of creative Melbourne. I wasn’t able to head there, so I did the next best thing – I asked if she would be willing to share the pictures (and words alongside them) on Pikaland so that others may be able to experience it as well. And she said yes, hurrah! Enjoy! ~ Amy

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*** NOTE: All text are taken from the exhibition, which includes the artist’s statement and/or an introduction to each artist’s work.

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You, Me and the Flock – Juan Ford, 2013

“The huge sky above us holds many secrets. I enjoy trying to understand how the natural world constantly changes and how we are a part of that process. I have often watched birds in flight, flocking and flying apart. It has made me think about how we do a similar thing but in a very different way.

Join in my experiment and add some birds to the flock. As you place each bird, think about the changing shape of the flock and the feeling of movement. Also think about what it might mean as the flock becomes populated with more and more birds over time.”

You Ask Me About That Country – Sangeeta Sandrasegar, 2012-13

Born to Malaysian and Australian parents, Sangeeta Sandrasegar lived in both countries before settling in Melbourne at the age of ten. Her work explores perceptions of homeland and diaspora, belonging and identity. These works form part of a series “You Ask Me About That Country” which takes its title from a poem by Faiz Ahmed Faiz about the effect of time on memories. Created following her return to Malaysia after twenty-five years, each suite of exquisitely detailed filigree paper-cuts comprises a self-portrait confronted by three other portraits representing different Malaysian cultural groups.

The beautiful patterns of flowers, leaves and butterflies that form her hair are inspired by traditional batik designs from Malaysia. Batik is an ancient art of making patterns using wax and coloured dyes on fabric that is found in many countries across Asia.

The shadows cast on the walls by the paper cut-outs are like an echo of the artist’s memories and suggest there are different ways we can think about who we are.

dontworry – Mark Hilton, 2013

Extending across nine intricately detailed wall-mounted panels, each corresponding to a formative event in Mark Hilton’s life, dontworry is a personal memoir exploring the complicated transition from childhood to adulthood. However this dark representation of events witnessed while growing up in suburban Melbourne, including violence committed by mobs of people and unnerving depictions of adolescent bad behaviour, also poses broader questions around “normal” codes of behaviour.

Co Workers, Hanging Sculpture – Meredith Turnbull

When I am making sculpture and jewellery, I enjoy experimenting with different shapes, sizes, colour and texture. My work ranges from large scale sculptural installations to much smaller jewellery pieces. I often compare sculpture and jewellery and I wonder about the similarities and differences between them. When I make necklaces and bracelets I sometimes think of them as small wearable sculptures.
For Melbourne Now I have selected a range of wooden components, tube and laminated card for you to work with. You can also draw on these with coloured pencils. Think about the different ways you can arrange the colours, textures and shapes to create your own wearable sculpture.

For you – Darren Sylvester, 2013

Darren Sylvester’s multidisciplinary practice reflects upon the tropes and convention of consumer culture, advertising, pop music and cinema, appropriating international products as “readymades” as a way of considering how we are shaped and affected by branding. “For you” is an illuminated dance floor that appropriates current make-up palettes offered by Yves Saint Laurent, colours “proven” by market research to appear flattering on the widest cross-section of people. Shy-dancers should not fear – everyone looks good on this dance floor.

The Gallery of Air

Best experienced than captured on camera, this amazing gallery exhibited just about anything and everything that involved air – a remote control to an air-con unit, a book (Up In The Air by Walter Kirn), a vintage vinyl (Wind on the Water by Crosby and Nash), a Rhett Butler doll (Gone with the Wind), airplanes, a resuscitation doll, a shoe (Nike Air), Chinese foldable paper fans, and a print of a vintage hot air balloon, just to name a few. Ever wondered how so much of what we do, use and enjoy involves air?

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Melbourne Now is happening from 22 November 2013 – 23 March 2014 at the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria). If you’ve taken some pictures or have written about the event (or know of anyone who does), do drop your links below so that we can see more of the action happening over at Melbourne!

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About Jaime
My name is Jaime Pih and I’m a Malaysian born multimedia design graduate living in the creative hub that is Melbourne, Australia. I love capturing moments and discovering the old and new of all things beautiful (cliche as it may sound) whether it be a delicious work of art on a plate, the story that went into every stitch of a vintage dress, the beauty and genius in the sculptures around us, learning something new, or creating a sanctuary in the space we call home. If it looks good, tastes good, feels good, and is for good, well…”that’s amore!”
Instagram: @thebridegene | Pinterest: pinterest.com/thebridegene | Blog: thebridegene.com

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If you would like to share some of the recent events in your area – whether it’s an exhibition, an art event or a fun gallery, feel free to get in touch with me (Amy) and I’d love to put it up here on the blog to share with our readers!
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Recap: Singapore Biennale 2013

With every art exhibition I go to, I always look forward to personal reflections that will follow. And so this Chinese New Year, I went AWOL for a bit (sorry guys!) but with a good reason – I went on a trip down south to visit friends and relatives for CNY, and also to visit the Singapore Biennale 2013 which was happening from 26 October 2013 to 16th February 2014.

Biennales are large exhibitions that are held every 2 years. And what I love about large art exhibitions is that they feature the work of many artists all packed into one place, although it may not be technically be in the same building. This can be due to the size of the installations, and the nature of it (whether it’s an outdoor, indoor; whether it needs for a more complex mechanism to run it, etc).

For Singapore’s 2013 Biennale, the exhibitions were spread out across the Bras Basah area, with one installation at Taman Jurong. There were 82 artists whose work were spread out across the venue, and Mr. T and I had so much fun tracking them all down with the help of the guidebook (it came with the entry ticket) that documented each and every work available. I loved the variety of the artists work shown this year, and I wanted to share some of my favorites:

Shieko Reto’s Waiting Room installation featured paper cut outs that mimic the waiting room of a slightly seedy transgender/cosmetic surgery waiting room through illustration. It echoes the many episodes of “waiting” that they have to undergo (family’s acceptance, confirmation of regular employment, and even into society). The social messages are further spread by the zines and pamphlets that Shieko illustrated herself, and forms a big part of the installation in its entirety.

Eko Prawoto’s Wormhole is a grand installation made out of bamboo that punctuates the front of the National Museum of Singapore. Resembling a series of mountains, it’s a landscape that Prawoto is familiar with in his homeland of Indonesia, and yet alien to Singapore. Wormhole refers to the theoretical opening of a galaxy which allows one to traverse through time and space, as well as the insignificant passage through earth created by a burrowing earthworm. One is invited into the Wormhole, and in turn, are made to feel as though they’re part of the landscape – we are the worms. Through a glimpse of the outside world through the clouds and sun above, it offers shelter and respite, and a complete sensory experience from the modern world outside.

Jainal Amambing’s experience of growing up in a Rungus longhouse in Kudat, Sabah is illustrated in a collection of artworks entitled My Longhouse Story. Bold, bright and filled with textures, these paintings seem to also belong among the pages of a children’s book. There’s mischief and adventure, with sidekicks and pets thrown in for good measure.

Irwan Ahmett & Tita Salina’s Urban Play is a series of interventions in public spaces that the artists have devised by using the element of play to connect communities and individuals to respond to specific problems. Their work is one of my favorites! Although not an installation, their ideas were expressed mainly through various videos taken of their project, which took place in different places around Indonesia and Singapore. One example of this was how they started a ball of trash (I’m not kidding!) by taping all sorts of wrappers, tins, paper, etc with tape and got the community to participate by picking up the trash around their neighbourhood to add to this ball. It snowballed to a size of a van or a small truck! And the best part was how they rolled the ball on its journey through the small streets and eventually, rolled it onto a busy road, as if it had a life of its own. It was fantastic and inspiring on so many levels – particularly if you’re living in places where civic consciousness isn’t as far along as it should be; especially when trash is a glaring by-product of such an environment.

I also appreciated how the information was presented, especially the artists statement – which was done professionally (with I assume was done with the help of a copywriter/writer). It was brief and simple to understand, and really gave great context to a work that might otherwise not have been understood easily. There’s nothing worse (at least in my eyes!) than trying to decipher big words which can alienate people from understanding art.

Here’s our route (plus tips!):

We bought the tickets at Singapore Art Museum (SAM), and immediately went to work there first. The Biennale was organized by SAM, so this is where most of the installations were located. The ticket also stated that entry to SAM and SAM at 8Q is only allowed on the day of ticket purchase.
Next up we headed down the road to SAM @ 8Q. Then we walked past Waterloo Centre, before heading to the National Library to check out the installations there.
Since we split our visit into 2 days, the next day we went to the National Museum of Singapore. The Biennale ticket allowed us entry to the permanent exhibitions within the places that held the installations, so we took some time to visit other exhibitions not associated with the Biennale. We also walked past Singapore Management University and Fort Canning Park too (which only held about 1 – 2 installations). Our last stop was at Peranakan Museum. The ones that we didn’t manage to visit were the installations at Tank Road and Our Museum @ Taman Jurong.

The Biennale is held from 26 October 2013 to 16th February 2014 (which means that this is the last week to catch it!), so if you haven’t made the tour already, I suggest you hop on over!

For more information, visit the Singapore Biennale website at www.singaporebiennale.org/‎.

SHARE WITH ME:

Have you paid the Singapore Biennale 2013 a visit? Which artwork or installation was your favorite, and why? If there’s a large exhibition that has created a deep impression, do share with us too in the comments below!