Initiated: Self
Exhibited: Winstedt @ LASALLE, 2016
Installation
Dimensions variable
2016
Digital print, mixed media
The sequel to Underload borrows the same idea from its prequel. In Underload II, however, the "objects" are set within a pre-apocalyptic narrative. Where resources are no longer plentiful, bounties from the sale of goods are depleted and the rules of survival are reset.
Initiated: Self
Exhibited: Winstedt @ LASALLE, 2016
Installation
Dimensions variable
2016
Digital print, mixed media
The sequel to Underload borrows the same idea from its prequel. In Underload II, however, the "objects" are set within a pre-apocalyptic narrative. Where resources are no longer plentiful, bounties from the sale of goods are depleted and the rules of survival are reset.
Initiated: Self
Exhibited: Winstedt @ LASALLE, 2016
Installation
Dimensions variable
2016
Digital print, mixed media
The sequel to Underload borrows the same idea from its prequel. In Underload II, however, the "objects" are set within a pre-apocalyptic narrative. Where resources are no longer plentiful, bounties from the sale of goods are depleted and the rules of survival are reset.
Initiated: Self
Exhibited: Winstedt @ LASALLE, 2016
Installation
Dimensions variable
2016
Digital print, mixed media
The sequel to Underload borrows the same idea from its prequel. In Underload II, however, the "objects" are set within a pre-apocalyptic narrative. Where resources are no longer plentiful, bounties from the sale of goods are depleted and the rules of survival are reset.
Installation
Dimensions variable
2016
Digital print, mixed media
The sequel to Underload borrows the same idea from its prequel. In Underload II, however, the "objects" are set within a pre-apocalyptic narrative. Where resources are no longer plentiful, bounties from the sale of goods are depleted and the rules of survival are reset.
Do Not Consume addresses the relationship between the notion of perfection and how its pursuit can sometimes lead to an obsession. With the "perfect apple" being in the centre, it stood with the other apples as a role model. Yet at the same time, it is a standard that is unreachable. By repeating the act of drawing the same apple over and over in hopes of achieving the perfect apple, Ying Xian incorporates the process of a repeated action as an obsession into an expression of her feelings towards the unachievable strive for perfection in her daily life. The need for perfection has been investigated in the making of Do Not Consume.
Do Not Consume addresses the relationship between the notion of perfection and how its pursuit can sometimes lead to an obsession. With the "perfect apple" being in the centre, it stood with the other apples as a role model. Yet at the same time, it is a standard that is unreachable. By repeating the act of drawing the same apple over and over in hopes of achieving the perfect apple, Ying Xian incorporates the process of a repeated action as an obsession into an expression of her feelings towards the unachievable strive for perfection in her daily life. The need for perfection has been investigated in the making of Do Not Consume.
OVERLOAD
Commissioned by: National Arts Council Singapore
Exhibited: Singapore Art Museum 8Q, 2014
"Overload" reflects the sentiments of the rapid progression of today's society. The New is embraced, with the passing of the Old. These new issues have emerged in response to such a pace, people fret more often than ever; unsure of whether they will able to keep up with society's standards or be left behind as a result.
“Sometimes people let the same problem make them miserable for years when they could just say, So what. That's one of my favorite things to say. So what.”
–Andy Warhol
Placing myself in The Ideal imaginary Supermarket, “Overload” depicts the ramifications of rapid progress, when people are “in transit”, juggling social demands and personal needs. Imagine being able to purchase a product that is able to deal with the consequences of our ever-changing society.
What will you buy?
PLAYTHING
PLAYTHING
provides a grim realist adult reinterpretation on 20 common children toys.
PLAYTHING explores and portrays these children toys through written musings and illustration, exploring major themes where Society is the master while the reader serves as Society's PLAYTHING.
THE BEAD MAZE
I told her, "Let's leave things to the fate proposed by the universe"
Then I realised a reply yet unspoken, "But you too are part of the universe, are you not?"
The narrative could go have gone either way.
Well, I guess it depends on who's saying it, right?
Am I the fateweaver or am I woven? Am I doing Clotho’s deed, to some capacity?
I wish her sisters were here to tell me so. Is this a dialogue or a mere monologue who lies deep within the enclaves of my grey matter.
However grey this conversation may be, lies the truth that fates are all half sewn to some extent, as romantic as the concept of destiny may be.
WORK-IN
PROGRESS
STICKERS
How I became a sticker album:
When I was young, I owned a sticker album. These albums contain stickers that are appreciated for their cuteness, and cartoon character they portray. I remember being proud of my collection.
Stickers start to mean something different, as you progress a couple of years later. They are only given when you receive an award, a star sticker, “Good Job”, etc
Give it 2 decades or more, it’ll be something else. I have became the sticker album. Embodying the societal labels placed upon you. Receiving stickers I didn’t know I held. It’s no longer a choice collection. It’s society’s choice on your label. Even fruits have stickers to label their origin. Not all apples are the same, but their categories houses them within a fruity guild of sorts.
Maybe stickers are arguably decorative. If so, are we merely “ornaments” sitting lifelessly within the world’s living room? Ought I be proud of the album I’ve become today?
WOODEN NUMBERS
“There are 5 cats”
Numbers were once interacted with for learning purposes. Nothing more than additions, subtractions, multiplications and divisions. There are 5 cats. Something to make sense of what you see in the world, a crucial fragment to communication when it comes to the everyday. It was simple and untainted.
As an adult, numbers become a sign of quantifiability. Gone is the naive nature of numbers one had as a child.
Chances of survival, time left after an incurable disease, the amount of money one has lost in a bad investment, time of death, lottery numbers and the money lost to gambling.
The beautiful colors once assigned to these wooden number toys are now the antithesis of those bright colors of the rainbow. The vibrance of Red one had experienced as a child, is a whole lot different as an adult. Losses are always reflected in the shade of apple.
BATTLESHIP
There are some ships of yours in life that will be sunk. They will range from the size of a nameless raft to the Titanic.
Marine Liner (Titanic):
Family death
Ferry: Major physical Illness / Near Death experience Cabin
Cruiser: Losing all my savings/money
Yacht: Drifted apart with a good friend Boat: Broken up with someone
Raft: Failed Math in an exam
We all face calamities in life of varying magnitudes.
These “ships” exist in our “sea” (Life), But the game (of life) cannot end, without experiencing them. How many passengers are you losing for each ship sunk?
Does that memory of that sunken vessel live on in its impact of eternity or for just a short time?
You can be a winner too, but the game eventually ends. It’s hard to have all your ships been missed. It’s nearly impossible.
SNAKE & LADDERS
If snakes were one day, herbivores, the fear attached to their species could be well dispelled, but still, time is necessary.
I’m terribly afraid of imaginary hisses, serpentine sounds and the sudden lunges of their necks.
Their appearances are not frightening, if they are frozen in movement, these slithering creatures can be quite a work of art to marvel upon, visually speaking.
But their carnivorous nature, I trust not. An animal works with their instincts for survival, like a living person. At the sight of one, I shall sequester.
A ladder however, a sturdy one I trust to be, a reliable friend for life.