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6/10/2004

Natural Forces

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Gallery 3, Singapore

Heat, Light and Elemental Change

An exhibition of video art by British artist Simon James at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Gallery Oct 7 to 17

“Natural Forces” is a dual video installation that aims to capture the beauty and danger unleashed by the interaction of the natural elements – heat, water, air and earth.

As the elements of our world combine and change state, energy is emitted in a visual form, as a burst of lightning in an electrically charged tropical sky or the sulphurous vapour swirling over a volcanic lake.

Using multi-panelled video installations, British artist Simon James seeks to harness the unsettling power of these phenomena and distill their visual splendour in an interior environment.

“Vapour”, the main piece in the exhibition, is a video interpretation of a geothermal hotspot in northern New Zealand where volcanic heat colours the earth with mineral residue and sends clouds of mist billowing into the sky.

“Electric Sky”, the companion piece, uses video of Singapore storms to show how high-voltage energy transforms the sky with a sequence of natural “fireworks”.

Simon James is a Singapore-based artist who studied the traditional disciplines of drawing and painting at the Royal College of Art and Royal Academy in London and worked for several years as an artist/designer in Tokyo. While in Asia, he began to explore multi-media forms and now works primarily in video and photography. Light as an agent of change in the environment has been a constant source of inspiration for him. In “Chasing Light” (Esplanade’s Jendela Gallery 2002) he presented abstracted video of the Singapore river set to music as part of their opening festival. “Storm”, commissioned for Infocomm Asia in 2003, invited visitors to experience a projected rainstorm as it swept across the island, blurring the man-made city behind a cascade of water.

With “Natural Forces”, the artist takes a broad look at elemental interactions in the Asia-Pacific region. Like the ancient alchemist who tried to extract gold from the earth, he seeks to distill order from random climatic events and to fix their subtle, impermanent beauty.
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VAPOUR – Sequenced video in 3 panels

This video was filmed at a sulphur lake in the Wai-O-Tapu thermal park in New Zealand’s Rotorua district.

The piece shifts between reality and interpretation as the steam generated by the volcanic waters swirls across the screens. The scene reveals itself, only to disappear back into abstraction.

The video is projected onto semi-transparent material to give the illusion that the mist is literally floating in space, creating a three-dimensional effect and inviting the viewer to enter and interact with the piece.

ELECTRIC SKY – Sequenced video

The source video for this piece was filmed over several hours during Singapore thunderstorms.

Beginning with late afternoon light, the video follows the course of the storm into darkness and the streaks of lightning that illuminate the night sky.

The video is projected onto a suspended panel, creating an illusionary window to the night sky as well as a floating object in the exhibition space.

Opening reception: Oct 7 , 6:30 ~ 8:00 pm

Exhibition dates: October 7 to 17
Mon – Fri: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm Sat – Sun: 12:00 to 5:00 pm
Supported by Mitsubishi Electric Asia Pte Ltd, Mediaplex & Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

For more information on this exhibition contact:

Bridget Tracy Tan, gallery director, 6512 4042
Simon James, artist, 9759 3458 email: simon@simonjames.com
Visit the artist’s website at http://www.simonjames.com

Venue: Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Gallery 3, 80 Bencoolen Street, Singapore

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