Three prevailing artists in Singapore: Shih Yun Yeo, Susan Olij, and Rachel Law recently collaborated to create a unique exhibit where experimental works formed new opportunities of expression. INSTINC was founded back in 2004 by Yun, who volunteered the space for the project. Besides exhibitions, the gallery also holds workshops, artists' lectures and offers a residency program to invited artists.
Susan Olij's Brainwaves
Born in Indonesia, Susan Olij has been living and working in Singapore since 2001. Her recent project at INSTINC is a continuation of her 2009 series entitled "Where I stop and you start," which delves into the activity of the brain and what occurs within this complicated organ. Her prior instillation, which included paper and thread pieces are also on display at the studio. For these pieces, she got used to "letting go of the compulsion to be perfect," stated Olij, in a personal interview on April 21, 2011.
Her current drawings have the same theme, but display forms that represent the inner workings of mind and spirit through electrical impulses in the brain. "People fascinate me," stated Olij. "I like how people think. . . .drawing is like listening to how people are thinking," she continued. For Olij this statement is especially true in regards to a workshop she runs at her Olij Studio, for people of all ages.
The workshop is loosely based on a 1979 workbook by Betty Edwards, which currently has a revised edition entitled The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain [1989, Tarcher] . According to Olij, at the studio people are made aware of the talent they have, even with no prior ability to draw. She is looking forward to offering her workshop around South East Asia in the upcoming year. Olij formerly worked in fashion design and currently is a teacher in Design Faculty at the LaSalle College of the Arts.
Shih Yun Yeo's Robots
Singaporean artist Yun began her art career in 2002 after graduating from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her recent project is a continuation of her "Man and Machine Series," which began after she realized she wanted more unpredictability with her art. This unpredictability was achieved through the use of robots and remote-control cars she purchased at a toy store. At a demonstration, she hooked-up a bristle brush to a small robot and let it do its work. Next, she set a small remote-controlled car to run through the paint. With the car, she has a bit more control and completes the painting after whitening-out certain areas that she dislikes. However, it usually takes a few sessions of painting and correcting marks before the process is complete.
Yun acknowledged that it depends on the smoothness of the floor, along with which brushes she uses to determine how the outcome will turn out. "Have to use eyes to sense how the composition should be," stated Yun on April 21st. These paintings are on display at the exhibit, along with a small book she put together which reflects the process of her work by whipping through the pages, entitled The Making of Man and Machine Series Number One.
Yun considers her studio a "champion of collaborations network". She recently opened a second location at 21 Bukit Batok Crescent, allowing more room for her to work and allowing space for a second artist in residence. "My vision is for it to be a place for different artists coming-in on an international level," stated Yun. Her current artist in residence is Kuros Nekouian, an Iranian artist living in Munich, for whom Yun offered an exchange program. She'll be making the trip to Munich within the year. Kuros' upcoming show entitled "The First Cut is the Deepest," will take place on May 6th-8th, 2011at INSTINC, with an opening reception on May 6th, 7pm-9pm.
Rachel Law's Flying Bicycle
Law is a Singaporean artist who was offered a scholarship to study art at the young age of 16 in Singapore. Once Law graduated from the University of Melbourne and returned home to Singapore, she was quickly approached by other artists, although working in the media and communications field at the time. Law enjoys performance art and unconventional exhibits, especially one she organized entitled "Happy Birthday" from 2009 in Australia.
Law's flying bicycle exhibit is interactive, with the viewer pedaling to scenes from a Hans Christian Andersen 19th Century fairy-tale, entitled SnowQueen. The piece is a collaboration with other artists and set to music as well. The point of the piece is for the rider to experience the Sublime through human flight, which transcends over space and time.
Law is the main organizer of this exhibit, applying for and receiving funding. She is looking forward to studying at the Parsons School of Design in New York later this year, where she will be working on her next art project: an invisibility cloak. For another article on the Singapore art scene, please see article on the PantoneMyArt exhibit.
Julie Maggiacomo Carrera - Julie's writing career began back in college in the 1990s. However, she considers herself a new writer since she has put this profession ...
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