Singapore Art Biennale 2011: Open House (Old Kallang Airport)

Martin Creed
Work No. 890: Don't Worry, 2008

The artist's use of neon lights arranged in words against a blank wall is akin to the lettering of a signboard for a nightclub. To this effect, the artist could be referring to the alcohol that is consumed in a nightclub for the purpose of rendering one temporarily free from worry. The words which the artist has arranged could be the voice of alcohol which calls out subtly in the midst of intoxication, as suggested by the gentle and blurred neon of the lights, don't worry.

However, in a more simplistic and literal sense, the neon-lit words could symbolise hope. Perhaps, in our society where much relies on words to be explained, the artist has plainly described hope in words. The hope which the artist is referring to might be anything, which could be for the audience to decide for themselves in a personal way. The artist could be trying to bring across to the audience the message that hope will make us strong, as seen from the tough bold lettering. The bright neon lights could literally signify the brightness that hope brings. The words themselves could depict hope.

This artwork carries a subtle message in strong bold lettering to the audience, as they look at it with their own personal definition of hope in their hearts. Depicted in either way, the message is still the same: don't worry.



Michael Lee
Office Orchitect, 2011

This is one of the many model buildings constructed by architect K.S Wong, a man who was born in 1911. A wheel which houses an entire city of buildings, crafted to the tiniest details, brims full of the playful childlike innocence of the fictitious character K.S Wong's creations, imagined up by the artist.

I like the idea of immersing yourself into another situation. Like it may not have to be imagining you are a different person, no - just to immerse yourself into a form of artwork that you pretend that you have been doing all your life or if not, at least like a specialist or profession. Like M. Lee in the shoes of K.S Wong creating this sculpture.


Elmgreen and Dragset
Deutsche Scheune (German Barn), 2011

This primitive wooden wheelbarrow is but a part of a larger installation by Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. Beside the wheelbarrow, which rests upon a plot of straw, is a huge German barn. The barn has white walls and a black rooftop, with reindeer horns fixed above the stable door. The reindeer horns serve as a deliberate and blatant call to the visitor of the barn that it is not to be found in the anywhere in the sunny city of Singapore except in the dark confines of part of the Old Kallang Airport for the Singapore Art Biennale 2011.

Upon entering the visitor is greeted by the pungent smell of musty straw and life-sized figures of animals like cows. Farming tools like rakes were leaned against the barn walls. Haystacks were piled high and a stuffed goat standing near the door. It was the closest thing to a barn that I had ever been to in the flesh.

Here were my first thoughts and feelings. I was quite disconcerted by the smell, and unsure of what message the artists were trying to bring across - whether they really did approach this work in all seriousness or if they intentionally tried to mock the issue they intended to address if there was any (as was the case with the fake buffaloes in Montien Boonma's Buffaloes From the Field on the Way to Town) or infuse humour into it.

Unsatisfied with my initial ignorance, I went to do some research on Deutsche Scheune and found out that the artists wanted to recreate a German barn scene to give some exposure to Singaporean exhibition-goers on agriculture seeing as Singapore appears to have a limited expanse of fertile soil that is common in the countrysides of larger countries (like Germany.) If my resources were right or accurate, that is. (I know that stuff on the web can't all be trusted. But I'm just sharing what I found..)

There were supposed to be farm boys, and I mean real people, locals, dressed up in German farmboy dress in the farm. But when we went inside it was just us and the smell and the sculpture of a cow.

Well, whatever the real motive behind the work, it still remains somewhat shrouded in mystery to me (don't all artworks. Until you're made to analyse them in great detail and probably even come up with symbolic and deep meanings some artists may not have even thought of in the process of making the artworks. I mean like looking at my sister's essay which was used in a class last year. When I told her they were using her essay in a LA class and dissecting every single detail about it she sounded quite surprised, and i think she said she didn't think of it in such detail. So basically the teachers found stuff in it that my sister didnt even consciously add in) Well, not to demean the critiquing of artwork or the study and analysis of works of art. They are useful and very scholarly indeed. I enjoy them, even when I may not be exceptionally outstanding in it thus far. But I'm just stating a fact.

Anyhow, in any case, I sure was glad to be out of that barn.

Having just written a great deal on this, I must say that after finding out more about the Barn, it doesn't really inspire me much. What a letdown right... Well, I'm sorry. But I included this in partly because I really like the picture of the wheelbarrow beside the barn. The grunge of the old rusting metal in the background, the way the light falls softly onto the wheelbarrow from the right..

I'm very seriously considering photography as a medium for coursework because of this photograph.

So you see, Deutsche Scheune really did inspire me in some ways.


Ruben Ramos Balsa
Untitled (Bulb), Pies de Plomo, Zapateado-Luz, 2003-2007

In this cleverly arranged artwork, the artist has used technology to depict tap dancing - in a lightbulb. By means of projection, the silhouettes of a pair of feet dance across the confines of a small lightbulb. As the feet touch the "ground", or the surface of the bulb, the sounds of feet tapping on the ground resound through the dark room where the audience observes. The audience can only see the shadows of a pair of feet from below the bulb as they look up. This is the only perspective to which the audience is allowed; hence, it arouses feelings of wonderment and awe. The bulb and the feet are tiny, and in the first few moments nothing may be observed at all - except for puzzled looks as to where the audio sounds are coming from. However, the audience will quickly notice that the feet move to match the sound. This is due to how the artist has arranged the room so it is pitch-black. Attention is hence drawn to the lightbulb on the ceiling, the only main source of light in the room. The shadows used create a sense of mystery, and this never-before-seen phenomenon of feet tap-dancing in a lightbulb creates a sense of surprise.

The artist could be trying to show his passion for dancing. Perhaps I could likewise use my coursework as a medium through which my passion for something I truly care about is displayed.

I like this work. The use of multimedia in the work piques the interest. Like how did he do it? This artwork inspires me because of the uniqueness of it (this artwork wowed everyone). I don't think I ever saw anything like that before. But having said that, sometimes something you've seen before also is refreshing and counts as special. Like when you see a Great and you have this desire within you to make something inspiring too.


Credits
Artworks- by above-mentioned artists
Photographer- LeeSH
Write-ups - LeeSH