Abstractions:
Filmic Readings of the Something New Must Turn Up Exhibition was a newly
commissioned film anthology that closed the recent Painting with Light
International Festival of Film on Art by the Singapore National Gallery. It
comprises six filmic readings by Singapore filmmakers (Ryan Benjamin Lee, Chew
Chia Shao Min, Chong Lii, Toh Hun Ping, Russell Morton, and Gladys Ng and Ng
Hui Hsien) on works within its namesake exhibition, which is ongoing at the
Gallery.
These six
artists were selected as subjects for the exhibition as they represent the
diversity of artistic practices and backgrounds of post-independence Singaporean
artists. They worked across a wide range of mediums, techniques and disciplines
– from Jaafar Latiff’s batik paintings and Mohammad Din Mohammad’s talismanic
collages, to Eng Tow’s bronze installations and Lin Hsin Hsin’s digital art.
The artists also came from diverse backgrounds – Goh Beng Kwan, Chng Seok Tin
and Eng Tow furthered their art education overseas and returned to Singapore,
while Lin Hsin Hsin, Jaafar Latiff and Mohammad Din Mohammad continued their
artmaking in Singapore. Together, they represent the pluralistic and diverse
local art scene of that time. While they had different art practices, the six
artists shared something in common – they were all artistic innovators in their
respective mediums.
The six
filmmakers chosen are known for their experimental practices and innovative approaches
to respond to what the exhibition propositions as new in the practices of the
artistic forerunners working in post-independence Singapore, the project seeks
to embody the progressive spirit that inspired lifelong experimentation for the
artists in the exhibition, and which continues to engender something new in the
present. Echoing the artists’ interdisciplinary approaches to artmaking, the
filmmakers had also worked across diverse media. For the commission, they had
flexibility in determining film form and if artist collaborations (e.g. with a
photographer or performer) were needed.
Axis by Ryan Benjamin Lee (in response to Chng Seok Tin: Drawn Through A Press)
In Axis, a labyrinth constructed from images of grids, ladders and glass ceilings collides and coalesces into an impossible space. This film is a rumination on mall culture in Singapore, with the homogeneity and verticality of these centres of consumerism mirroring contemporary power structures and the desire for upward mobility. This animated short is inspired by works in the exhibition Chng Seok Tin: Drawn Through A Press such as Gold Rush (1993), Social Climbers (1992) and Game of Chess (1999–2001).
‘Unfortunately,
Chng Seok Tin had passed a few years ago, but I think her work speaks for
itself. I worked closely with the show’s curator, Cheng Jia Yun to
conceptualise and become more deeply in tune with Chng’s emotional and
political feelings towards the state of Singapore in the 1980s. A lot of her
work responded to the institutional ‘value systems’ at play; having experienced
social mobility herself through higher education. Floating ladders come to
symbolise endless social climbing while grids and chess boards demonstrate
power play. These images informed the structure of my own film, which moves
from the vertical to the horizontal; a symbolic flattening and dismantling of
power.’
One After Another by Chew Chia Shao Min (in response to Goh Beng Kwan: Nervous City)
‘One After Another is a reading of the works in the exhibition Goh Beng Kwan: Nervous City. The film draws from paintings in Goh’s Urban Renewal series: Minaret (1973), In The Clouds There Are Dwellings (1985) and Advertisements (1962–1966). Director Chew Chia Shao Min interprets the nervousness referenced in the exhibition title as a state of longing and anxiety. She uses images of waiting, simmering and engulfment to convey the tension that arises from suppressing charged emotions. In the film, the city becomes a fever dream of discontent as the protagonist and viewer alike are trapped in transitory states—always coming or going, but never arriving.’‘We showed
up at Goh's studio after a hectic morning of filming and he was cool to kick
back and let us do our thing. We tried a version of the last shot with him
instead of me, and it was fun to direct him and experiment with it. Mr. Goh
Beng Kwan may be in his 80s but he has a profound light and playfulness that is
entirely fresh, deep, and wise. He also has a great wardrobe and a sick sense
of style.’
Void and More by Toh Hun Ping (in response to Lin Hsin Hsin @speed of thought)
Void and
More is an abstract animation of paper, light and shadow. This short film
articulates director Toh Hun Ping’s ruminations on nothingness and existence
through experiments with paper folding and creasing, elementary geometry,
aleatory operations, visual motion illusions, and moving image-making with
material reliefs. It is inspired by the artistic practice of Lin Hsin Hsin,
presented in the exhibition Lin Hsin Hsin @speed of thought. It explores themes
in her artworks such as the void, the infinite, the cosmic universe and human
existence, the marriage of art, mathematics and science (especially
astrophysics), as well as the tactile and the organic.
‘Many
hours of origami folding followed, to train myself to fold the more advanced
and complex origami models, both figurative and abstract models. I got to the
point where I practiced folding every origami model about two to three times
before executing the actual one to be used for the animation. What was left
after the origami models were unfolded were crease patterns. There were about
fifty to sixty origami models that I selected from numerous origami books. They
were chosen based on their crease patterns and how one model/crease pattern matched
to the next one, thus forming a series with the potential for making animated
images.’
Mystic and Momok by Russell Morton (in response to Mohammad Din Mohammad: The Mistaken Ancestor)
Mystic and
Momok reflects on the philosophy and methodology of Mohammad Din Mohammad (1955
–2007), a polymath known variously as a mystic and traditional healer, actor
and musician, silat master and collector of Southeast Asian cultural objects, painter
and sculptor. The film documents the process of creating a musical composition
for Mhd Din, devised by a computer algorithm, Momok, which was developed by the
artist bani haykal. Capturing voice samples from Mhd Din’s family alongside
newer and less familiar voices, Momok arranges these samples into a musical
composition that accompanies a silat invocation by the late artist’s brother,
Sadiq M Din.
‘Momok is
a computer algorithm that takes samples of sounds and rearranges them into a
composition. This eventually becomes the soundtrack of the music video. I
enjoyed this conversation with technology, where the algorithm reassembled the
voice samples. There is an element of chance and serendipity, and I felt that
this process of embracing technology and the unexpected as an element of the
artwork was in the same spirit of MDM’s process of art making.’
Quest or
Quest by Chong Lii (in response to Jaafar Latiff: In The Time of Textile)
‘The
process really only kicked off during a visit to the Heritage Conservation
Centre to view Jaafar Latiff’s works being treated and analysed. I expected to
see a great deal of technical capacity but was nonetheless fascinated, by the
level of specificity and precision conservators displayed towards these
paintings. Among their instruments was a powerful digital microscope capable of
magnifying up to 200x. Looking at Jaafar’s batik paintings at such a scale was
immediately activating - this viewpoint had deepened his gestures of cosmic
abstraction for me.’
wanderings
by Gladys Ng and Ng Hui Hsien (in response to Eng Tow—the sixth sense)
‘We began our collaboration by sharing a lot with each other, such as the artists or works that we find inspiring. As we come from different disciplines, this sharing helped us to build a common visual language. With this visual language in mind, we began to film in nature reserves and parks, as the natural world is a subject matter that often features in Eng Tow’s practice. We filmed together, but we worked independently as well. At this stage, we didn’t have a clear idea of how the film would turn out. We simply trusted our intuition. It’s our attempt really, to explore and approach the collaboration with an open mind, rather than wanting clear, concrete ideas quickly.’