Exhibitionist

I've been contemplating about having an art exhibition early next year. I have some stuff to display. But more on that another day.

Because of that, I've been opening my eyes and ears. And I have been inquisitive.

An ordinary shop at The Cathay thus caught my attention. It's a shop that does not sell anything.



As I walk closer, I see the walls being plastered with photographs. Hunks in denim to be precise. The exhibition writeup picture is my favourite among all the rest.



The models for this project are athletes - not all are famous ones. You can see sprinter U K Shyam. Some of them are my friends from army and SMU. It's a little wierd seeing them exposed.



Still contemplating whether or not to have something like this. If I really think out of the box, I would do something like organise a dialogue session in a shop. I don't think it has been done before. Wacky.

Singapore Arts Festival

I miss flying in the air, up close and personal, with bursting fireworks dancing in the air.

Just some five months ago, I spent a whole four days rehearsing for my debut performance at the Singapore Arts Festival. I realised that I love performing. It's fun. And way, way up in the sky.



I used to dread rehearsals in the army. I digress. There is nothing that is really enjoyable in the army.

I used to think why we waste precious time doing the same thing over and over again. I was wrong. Rehearsing for the opening performance titled Dreams in Flight made me realise that the more I rehearsed, the more fluid I was at executing my moves.

So the Chinese saying ten minutes on stage is equivalent to ten years of practice off stage (or in the sky for that matter).



And of course the parties that followed - the free flow of beer, wine, alcohol. I love the arts. Visual arts or performing arts bring it on anytime.



To sum this off before I continue doing my project, I'll end with a quote.

No prizes for guessing which one of the above in the photo is me.

Until the Singapore Biennale 2008. Art rocks.

Batik overdose

If you walk into the heart of SMU, you can find a large blob of greenery.



This plot of land is known as campus green.

The trees there have been having an overdose of batik. There's the orange batik.



And the yellow one.



I was trying to be artistic here and took this photo.



Lots of artpieces fill the SMU campus. It's only a matter of whether you stop to admire them.

Kids art

A photo of a nice tree taken sometime back in SMU. It's done by primary school kids.

I like my school. That reminds me. I shall take some pictures about batik art soon.

Vespa in the city

The last time there was a Vespa display in town was like so damn long ago.

But recently, some of them have been creeping out at The Cathay.



Some are just plain. The all-white one reminded me of the ruling party. Imagine a party member dressed in a all-white ensemble riding the all-white bike. Coolness.



There was however a blue one that I liked. Some bright and explosive designs on the left of the bike. Orangey like the sun's rays.



Not sure if these bikes are still there. I'll go check again this week.

Support for Myanmar

Roses, notes and photos are not what you usually associate with pillars but for the past week, these items adorn a peace pillar by Myanmar students in Singapore Management University.



Initially designed as a peace pillar for the UN International Day of Peace, this pillar was modified to include notes of support for the innocent monks back in Myanmar who were suppressed by the military junta.



The pillar is named "The White Doves". The artwork on the initial pillar depicts a peaceful word - one without weapons and propaganda. At the lower portion are weapons shrouded in fire while the top portion has outstretched hands from people of various nations. The pillar was designed by 22 students from Myanmar.

Something new

Here's something new dedicated to art in Singapore.

Art has started to flourish in Singapore and more so the young. I'm pretty much interested in art these days - visual, sculptures, paintings (a little bit) and installation art.

My closest encounter with art so far was during the Singapore Biennale last year. Now that school's just a stone's throw away from the art galleries at the National Museum and the Singapore Art Museum, it makes it easier to fall in love with art.

This blog is titled "artblock" and there are two meanings to it. First, artblock can mean simply "art block". Similar to writer's block, this is sort of like an artist's block. Secondly, artblock is also what I call the art paper in the form of a block. So viola, this blog is born.



I'll be slowly trying to blog about my encounters with art here.

It's getting exciting.