Above the World
Lee Shu Hui
Pencil sketch
2010

About the Artwork
(the following art critique I did in 2010 was for our AEP SIA. We chose the theme Light, so I'm talking about how this work relates to our theme towards the end)
This artwork depicts a man standing on a narrow rectangular pipe, which could be stretching from one building to another. Below him, there are many buildings of different shapes and sizes, which show a cityscape. The people walking on ground level appear to be small dots. A linear perspective has been used so that the buildings appear large at the top and small towards the ground. The light source is coming from the top left corner of the picture, showing that the sun is beginning to set.

Contrast has been created through the differing intensities of light and shadows. Shadows have been made extra dark by using a 6B pencil, while the actual drawing was done using HB and 2B pencils, causing the pencil marks to appear much lighter. There is some sense of movement in the artwork, as from the direction in which the man's hair is blowing, one can observe that there is a breeze blowing from the viewer's right. Large rectangles, the tops of the buildings, have been placed around the man, to allow for eye movement around the artwork. Composition is rather balanced, as subject matter is not concentrated on any spot, but is evenly spread out. Emphasis has been placed toward the centre of the picture, where the man is. Beside the man, the side of the building not facing the sun has been made specifically darker, to draw the viewer's attention to the man.

This artwork is somewhat similar to Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Mists, although urbanized. The man stands alone, above a cityscape, looking down below at the happenings of busy city life. However, there is a sense of stillness in the picture, as there is little sense of movement but for the slight breeze, which shows the serenity the man is experiencing alone high up above the ground. This brings across a peaceful mood. Through this artwork the artist might be trying to portray that the man is fleeing from the troubles of a hectic life, and goes up to a quiet high place as a form of escapism. The dark shadows which spread across the artwork could mean that the darkness is threatening to overpower those on the ground level, who are still engaged in the bustle of a hectic life. Through this, the artist might be trying to say that having too busy a life would not be good for people, and that sometimes all we need to do is step back for a breather. This artwork could also show the serenity of being alone at times, bringing across a light peaceful feeling, and also shows striking contrast between shadows and light, hence connects suitably to the theme "Light".

How I Did It
 This is a pencil sketch through and through. I loved the urban feel of it, the way it's monochromatic and sketchy.

Why I Did It
This was actually based on a drawing I did in Pri 5, 2007. I admired the earnestness of the subject matter, of the pencil strokes in the drawing, so I decided to do a "reproduction" of the drawing. Originally the man was standing above a highway, but I decided that would be too unrealistic, so I changed it to a metropolis. When I drew that in 2007, I was very honestly trying to depict a place where one could be free to take a moment in the cool breeze, high above the ground, alone, to think, to see, to ponder, to be calm, to be at peace. Thus, I incorporated the same main subject matter, but changed the background.