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5/7/2012

France + Singapore Photographic Arts Award

SG Private Banking Gallery, Alliance Francaise de Singapour, Singapore

PROGRAMME OUTLINE
Alliance Française de Singapour is organising the France + Singapore Photographic Arts Award (FSPAA) for the first time this year. This award aims to feature the creative talents of visual artists from France and Singapore utilising the base medium of photography and to create awareness of the experimental and emerging styles of photographic art, hence to promote exchange of artistic knowledge, experiences and ideas between the artists from the two countries

THE COMPETITION
A selection will be conducted to pick the group of Finalists from all proposals submitted in this open call. Applicants were required to propose for a series of art works based on a photographic medium and is allowed a free hand in the presentation of their final art works (e.g. photographic prints, photographic video work, mixed media, etc). This group exhibition presents the 11 Finalists out of more than 50 applicants that were selected from the Call for Proposals. A judging session will be conducted during the Finalist exhibition to determine the WINNER of this programme. He or she will win a solo exhibition in Alliance Française de Singapour in 2013*. The selection for the WINNER will be resulting from 3 judges from the creative industry.

BACKGROUND
Before FSPAA2012, France + Singapore New Generation Artists (FSNGA) competition and exhibition was held by Alliance Française de Singapour since 2009 and it has featured 22 Finalists, 1 Honourable Mention Recipient and 3 Winners of the visual art competition in a span of three editions consiting of three group exhibitions and two solo exhibitions namely “Shifting (Re)iteration” (2010) and “HANDOVER MICHAEL” (2011) awarded for the Winners of the competition. Since its debut in 2009, it has gained enormous reputation in the arts scene and anticipation among the patrons for its unique art forms that were presented. FINALIST GROUP SHOW
This year, Alliance is presenting this programme focusing on photography and will gather a different line up of French and Singaporean Finalists for the group exhibition.
The 11 Finalists participating in this group exhibition are Chelsea Wong, Fong Qi Wei, Low Sok Hui, Matthew G. Johnson, Mohamed Fauzi Husin, and Tan Haur from Singapore and Isabelle Maiko Morin, Mathieu Augereau+Kirsty Furniss, Marianne Drouet, Thomas Diego Armonia, and Yves Jégard from France.

10 FINALISTS OF FSNGA2011

Chelsea Wong (SINGAPORE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“The etymology of the word ‘photography’ is from Greek: "photos" meaning light and “graphe", the drawing of lines. Hence, "photography" literally means "drawing with light". To most of us we tend to believe that a photograph brings with it the weight of truth of reality. After all isn’t it merely recording the hard ‘truth’ that exists in reality? I believe that this is not the absolute truth. The true ‘reality’ that we believe captured in a photograph is but a perspective. I am interested in revealing how false a notion this is – a false security – to refute this by augmenting reality to a point where one asks if it is based on reality at all. The images that I create are all based on photographs. They start from a photo and is changed or augmented by certain rules. For example, there are a few of my works where I augment the image in a photograph using 3D imagery mapping based on the intensity of the gradation of the grey scale (the ‘greyness’, if you will) of the photograph. The some of the 3D re-rendering of the photos are done based on the Cartesian coordinates, but some are based on other coordinate systems like the Cylindrical coordinates. In some of the final pieces, the initial image is easily recognizable whereas in others it is warped by the rules that were applied to it to become another object or another reality. I try to distill the essence of the initial photograph – to 'strip' it bare so that what remains may not even resemble what it was. I would have succeeded if the viewers were to question the truth of their own perception of reality that exists in a photograph.”

Fong Qi Wei (SINGAPORE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“During the exploration of the symmetry and beauty of individual floral components in my series Exploded Flowers, I discovered that each component has its own aesthetic and is literally a brushstroke of nature. Lifting off this theme that each petal, leaf, stamen or pistil is a brushstroke of nature- I have embarked on an ongoing series where I combine the use of photography and floral parts to create art. First off, I used other works such as Van Gogh's sunflower observations and the Great Wave off Kanagawa as my inspiration to explore the possibilities of color and texture afforded by floral components. Then, as I became more confident with the floral components I decided to create original works like Pandanus baptistii, Asparagus myriocladus, Pompoms (a landscape) and Rose, Eustoma, Peruvian Lily, Hydrangea (a study in metamorphosis). These pieces make use floral textures, floral and leaf colors, the depth of field afforded by the photography medium, and even digital post processing to create various effects for my art. It is interesting that nature's textures and shapes repeat itself in different forms- the lines of the leaves of a pandanus plant is similar to rock strata patterns, and the textures of the chrysanthemum and rose petals can mimic the feathers of a crane.”

Low Sok Hui (SINGAPORE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“This series of photos is inspired by an interest in the Japanese aesthetic sense of Wabi Sabi. In Wabi Sabi, one is reminded of a sense of quiet beauty and to appreciate the imperfect remnants of time. Through the cracked weathered surfaces, discarded items, and transient shadows, one is invited to contemplate on the beauty of the everyday and the oft-ignored moments. A sense of melancholy is evoked with the understanding that time and beauty is fleeting and we should learn to embrace that aching, poetic quality. Stop to embrace the humility around us. Slow down to enjoy the quiet moments in time.”

Matthew G. Johnson (SINGAPORE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Matthew is a British photographer who lives in Singapore. At the core of his images is the fascination with people and how they interact with their community and their environment. Over the last three years he has been collaborating with a wide range Asian dancers, actors and musicians to create a breadth of unique images at a tangent to the art forms from which they derive. Recent collaborators include T.H.E Dance Company, Wild Rice and TAO Dance Theater.”

Mohamed Fauzi Husin (SINGAPORE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Urban Tribal Dance explores the internal challenges we all face between conformity and individuality, between denial and acceptance, between repression and expression. Through the metaphor of dance, Matthew illustrates the journey of an artist from a life prescribed to a life chosen. An early part of the study had explored a narrative of dance in quotidian urban milieux from which it had long been absent. Examining the presentation of a lost dynamic heritage with a contemporary audience, the work sought out to document a cultural interchange. However as the work progressed Matthew started to question his motivation in pursuing the study, discovering that the core of the fascination was in fact much more personal: a reflection on his own dichotomy between a life of artistic devotion and another of commercial conformity. T.H.E Dance Company commissioned an extension of the work to support an upcoming performance for the NUS Arts Festival, Solo/Duets. Keen to approach the subject in a more intimate and individual manner, Matthew chose to explore a confrontation between a dancer and their own alter-ego in the same frame and so re-interpret “solo” and “duet” in a visual manner. A signature image was captured with Liu Xiao Mi at Old Airport Road Food Centre, and this became the leitmotif on which the second part was formed. The subsequent work involved twelve dancers shot in Singapore between June 2011 and February 2012 across a diverse range of locations from the mud of Kampong Buangkok to the cool glamour of Raffles Hotel. The resulting moments of erupting expression remind us that we can always burst through social constructs and into bliss. That is the power of the human spirit; that is the power of dance.”

Tan Haur (SINGAPORE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Global Eyes is a digital photo imaging art works series that then provoke questions in the context of globalisation in present. Busy streets of people chasing time, unnoticed corners of places within business districts and indicators on roads or pedestrian ways – I would love to take the viewers to a journey of the synthesis of city scenes and overlapping avenue photos of Melbourne and Singapore by my visual art making, producing a channel that causes boundaries separating the two nations to fade, or interlaced by a collage of two different places. The presence of globalisation in the art works becomes evident in the final visual effect when pieces of still moments are thrown forward – simultaneously being captured in their state of actuality; more than a photo journal of my photo-travelogue, they added thoughts that create the pictorial scrutiny of practice, nature and objects that have been adapted to a contemporary civilisation. The negative photographic turnabout acts like preservatives to keep that place and time alive. The vibrancy of base colours in digital print akin to magenta, cyan and yellow appear strategically to place a dimension where two places meet. The deliberate distortion of colours as a depiction of state of the place and time, or evoking emotions, is an indicator of post impressionism, and even an evolution of the artistic style due to the characteristics of implementing digital media, if one would allow the term that is not yet formalised but apparently imminent, is technically part of the existing mode of post-impressionism in digital1. Melbourne and Singapore as formal British colonial countries and notably owning significant amount of Chinese immigrants were eventually chosen by me as the places of interest for this series I were working on, both in which are cities that I have constantly traveled to and fro for several years, enhancing my project with the input of actual experiences and study of signifiers that could be identified visually by people on the streets. Extending my view with my Singaporean entity and as a person whom seeks discovery around the globe, my experiments art with digital imaging, photography, drawing and painting as my media, a mode of visual language. Through the productions and art works, I attempt to reflect a sequence of multi-dimensional viewpoint of existence I captured, deconstruction of representational objects, activities, signifiers and environments to achieve investigating and questioning the fundamental value of culture and human existence in relationship with globalisation and glocalisation.”

Isabelle Maiko Morin (FRANCE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“As I kept experimenting I became captivated by the endless possibilities of water, that soon became my favourite support. Its unpredictable and abstract character associated to the malleability of bodies and their harmony with nature is the starting point of the series that I named « Improvisations » I am very fond of the idea that sometimes a series can start from a random experimentation, which is exactly what happened with « Improvisations ». At the end of my first year at Gobelins,I started a series called « Mind Games», which is about memories, dreams, and nostalgia. The entire series was made in France but all of the images that I used for projections were shot during my travels, as they are my main source of inspiration. I tried to represent personal memories, simply following my subconsciousness.”

Mathieu Augereau+Kirsty Furniss (FRANCE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“KA'a is the collaboration of Mathieu Augereau and Kirsty Furniss, emerging contemporary aerosol and stencil artists. The Duo’s artwork exists at the frontiers between painting and graffiti, abstract and figurative, aesthetics and social commentary. The paintings of KA’a blur the boundaries of urban art, street art, contemporary art and emerging styles of photographic art. Overall KA’a’s motivation is to create artworks that are contrasting and engaging, that blend nature with chaotic city life, while focusing on the under-represented. Paintings often depict different socio-cultural and environmental focuses, with inspiration for the settings and characters drawn primarily from the Asia-Pacific region. The artwork of KA’a is characterized by dynamic balanced compositions created with contrasting photography-based stencils. Focus is also placed on a mix of free hand aerosol color and texture work in combination with additional mediums and layered, detailed stencils of people, scenes and organic symbols. The result is a fresh and defining style.”

Marianne Drouet (FRANCE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“After exploring France, from many angles, its peaceful surroundings and relaxing, Singapore gives me great opportunities for creativity, I'm going through the scenes, the energy that I perceive, people I meet gives me an impression of both strength and dizziness. The contrasts of this city fascinate me, and it is these strong contrasts that I currently operates through the superposition of images taken in the street, the detours of marked trails or roads. Singapore, where nearly coasted past the future, where traditions flirt with modernity.”

Thomas Diego Armonia (FRANCE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“My photographic work does not want to be tourist reportage. Through the journeys I took an indefinite number of photos that aim to touch intimate moments locked in my memory. Some describe the life and joy, the abstract and the mystery; others describe the suffering and death. These pictures want to homage a world that has deep historical roots, but adapts to the modern world to survive.”

Yves Jégard (FRANCE)
ARTIST STATEMENT
“Digital Art gives me the means to bring my passions to life through painting, photography, creativity, improvisation, computer based graphics and colour. I follow my intuition. I know where I am going. I travel to a colourful, idealised world, where gray no longer exists and becomes colour, fall becomes spring, winter becomes summer, dark becomes light.... Everything is alive, brought to life. I love that gap between the “normal” vision and the one I bring to life, by sometimes distorting, and colouring it always in different ways. My drawing usually remains figurative, while colours become abstract to create a world full of energy, strength and joy.”

For press images and enquiries contact:
Benedict Tan, Gallery Manager
benedict@alliancefrancaise.org.sg

SOCIETE GENERALE Private Banking Gallery
Alliance Française de Singapour
1 Sarkies Road, Level 2, - Singapore 258130
Mon to Fri, 11am to 7pm;
Sat, 11am to 5pm;
Sun and PH Closed
Admission is free

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