There was a bowl Maggie Mie, a Canned Food and Porridge, a 24hr Available and a Sizzling Woks on a bright brown table with a cheerful pink chair. There sat too, a teddy bear, relatively smaller than the rest, trying to reach out to the camp painted food. It was truly a visually buoyant piece by Joanna but for the artist, it was a forlorn situation of eating alone.

The installation starts the journey of the EAT WITH FAMILY exhibition, a visual art show in conjunction with Eat With Your Family Day 2010 at the Arts House. Involving 12 artists and a collaboration with Centre For Fathering and Artloft, the exhibition features installation works, paintings, drawings, multimedia as well as performance. Each artist explored the theme of family and food in close relation to their own experiences. Thus each work became a reflective documentation of what a family constituency means to them.

Next to Joanna’s work were drawings by Moses Sia. Incorporating his usual uncanny figures formed by interestingly wavy ink lines, Moses portrayed two scenes of family dinner on two paper plates. Titled NonDisposable, he was visualizing an interesting parallel relationship between craving of speed behavior with the disposable eating utensils. The whimsical drawings then reflects a rather painful truth that hectic lifestyle disrupts family bonding.

Within the corner area too, pieces of trading card-sized art works were displayed. Created by Pauseability and titled The More We Get Together, this piece was a collaboration of nine creative individuals. Approaching the theme of family and food in mini-cards sized 2.5 by 3.5 inch, this collection of works gives viewers a huge variety of styles, approaches and appeals. It was almost like an actual reflection of a society, where there are numerous smaller families but seen as one strong component.

Next few steps forward were Yong Hwang’s triptych paintings of grains bowls.  This piece was site-specifically installed in the relation with the walls of the Arts House. Using the physical space in hanging the works, Yong Hwang’s Eat With Family becomes an experiment where viewers were expected to jot down their thoughts on the issue of family and food, but at the same time, about how much the works are successful in achieving the intended message. Being the youngest among the individual artists involved, Yong Hwang had shown an ability to adapt the art works to the actual environment of possibilities and studies.

In a completely different approach, Rin Ioka’s installation titled Akari wo Keshite was created on the basis of reminiscence and evoking childhood memory. Her playful and eccentric objects which challenges the conception between art and craft, evoke a variety of reactions and personal consciousness on the viewers. Substantiated by the unfamiliarity of the Japanese culture and soothing acoustic music of her band, KaRinBa, the experience were almost quaint and unbelievable, but at the same time, luring and leading you towards your own imagination.

On the right side of the Arts House’ entrance was the largest piece of the exhibition, an acrylic painting by Sun Wahyu. Titled We Could Grow Up Together, this piece  is a very personal representation of the artist, not as the gigantic eyed boy figure but the mountains constructed beneath him. Alongside this work, is a series of five mountain drawings. The mountains for the artist is not only a representation of personal awareness but also a rendition of his surroundings in the comparison between his past and present state of life.

Another exuberant approach to the theme was the watercolor pieces by Annie Chong. The rich coalesce of colors, and shapes tell a never-ending narrative and create possibilities for viewers to interpret the works in the wildest imagination that they could ever think of.  Her works not only allows that but re-sketch fairy tales characters and situations to her personal performance of fantasy like an apparent example in Little Red Riding Hood’s Lucky Day.

A stone’s throw away from Annie’s dreams were the recorded laughter and joys of the children at Artloft. Taking the title of the exhibition, Eat With Family is an installation consisted of photographs, video documentation of performance, paintings as well as sculptural collage. The arrangements of all of these independent sections create a mental ecstatic noise of children having fun, sharing and communicating with their families. The videos were documentation of ‘performances’ done by the children themselves in which they cooked set meals for their parents. This work then becomes a series of archived activities of the children but had been presented in a very personal and relaxed space within the possible interaction between viewers and the work as a whole.

At the end of the Print Gallery was a work by Kelvin Atmadibrata titled Baby’s Breath. Origami on canvas and tape sculpture was exhibited together with a performance exploring the idea of maturity in the context of melamine affair. The performance in which the artist mimicked the presentation of the tape sculpture; with baby’s breath on their heads, walking blindfolded, distributing the melamine-filled White Rabbit Candy to the willing audiences.

As Kelvin performed on the opening night, he passed by another huge piece of work by Betsy Toh, titled 开饭了!, A collage of paint, crochet and knittings, Betsy portrayed her family having dinner together. This was among the most thought-provoking piece of the exhibition in which the artist attempts to diminish the boundary between art and craft. Creating a painting embellished by craft works, Betsy’s way of finishing her canvases are unique and mind stretching.

A couple of steps to the right from Betsy’s work was an installation by Grace Foo, titled multichannel. The installation creates a living room space with a real TV, sofa, coffee table and floor lamps, was as well decorated with two pieces of photo collages. However, Grace’s main focus is in the audio piece which is a recording of her Chinese New Year dinner with her family. Secretly taping the nostalgic audio, Grace created an invisible space through the conversation, allowing viewers to be at two places at the same time. Exploring the habit of eating in front of TV, Grace has provided a space for provocation and confrontation in dealing which space is real but at the same time, keeping her main message strong and visible.

One of the central pieces of the exhibition, Vincent Chow’s “A house is not a home, a home is not a family” is created using 30,000 Lego pieces and over 200 bricks. The materials that shaped a house gave the gist of a giant toy but carried both maturity and childishness in it. For Vincent, a household is created with equal balance of importance from the parents and children. The raw surface of the bricks was a contrast to the colorful polished veneer of the Lego bricks. The artist had creatively merged the two conflicting visual aesthetic in creating an equilibrium in both his concept and subject.

Last but certainly not the least is the work of Catherine Cheok. Using narrative texts as a collage on her paintings, Catherine retold the story of a conflict she had with her family. “What’s aesthetically pleasing” is a triptych piece of paintings in which the artist divided the chronicle into three main stages. Installed in an unusual method, the stools provided for viewers to sit and read the story followed the height of the tension.

EAT WITH FAMILY was truly experimental and an exercise in bringing various forms of art together from artists with different backgrounds. By making use the space of Print Gallery and Foyer within the symmetrical Arts House, artists involved had played within the physicality of the venue in the relation to the family volume within their respective pieces. The exhibition was not merely a show, but our imaginative meals with families.

Kelvin Amadibrata is a multi-disciplinary young artist. He is exploring curatorial and art writing exercise in his free time, though he admits he has still got much to learn

Curatorial essay: Explaining Food + Family + Art

By Catherine Cheok

I like to make a confession here. I was not exactly thrilled with the topic of family and food when I was first invited by Kelvin to participate in this exhibition. Neither topics held much interest to me. I’m not a big fan of family bonding especially. And if I really want to touch on this topic, it is, perhaps, a tad private for me to make a politically correct statement. But the opportunity to helm the seat of a curator, proved too much of a temptation. I eagerly agreed to his invitation and jumped into this stream of whirlwind events.

In the midst of preparation, I have a chance to learn a thing or two about family and food (of course, what else!)… and surprisingly, art. Funny how these three elements can be so different yet share a commonality at the same time.

Food + Family

If one tries to define Asia, food will be one factor that comes to mind immediately. Within the fabric of our diverse Asian cultures, food is a common thread that ties our societies together, and I dare say, a common passion among us as well, no matter how different we may see ourselves from another Asian culture. And this interest may have been sparked early in our childhood when our families prepare a feast for just about any occasions. Food begets immediate family members, which in turn begets the extended family involved; which in turn begets multi-level interactions; which in turn begets bonding, heart-breaks, tales of betrayal, or joy. Whether you like it or not, you walk away from a feast getting more than just the food. A meal can make you happy, or troubled.

So as you can see, food begets family time; or is it that family time begets food? For us, providing food seems to be an expression of love. No, we don’t like to tell you in the face that we love you (“you” here to mean our closed ones, or people we value). We just feed you and hope from the satisfied look on your face, on having a good meal and friendly conversation during the meal, that you appreciate our loving efforts. And from generation to generation, this is perhaps how we say to our family members- “yes, we love you. Please come home for dinner”, or “yes, I know you care for me. By the way, I really miss your cooking!”

Food + Family (+ Art?)

I guess by now, many of you would be asking, “so where does art fit into these?” This was the same question I first approached the theme on ‘Eat With Family’. I guess it was not that difficult to talk about it but to put it down in permanent form? Kelvin and I pretty much let the artists do what they want to do, after all this topic is pretty straight-forward, except, how does it relate to arts?

Okie, let us assume that there is a misconception here. The art here, may just be an instrument to bring about a realization on the commonality we have with one another, or even cross-culturally (we have three foreign artists involved in this project). Presenting this theme can be a simple affair, telling the story as it is, just like Joanna Chen’s installation/painting (factual style) or Annie Chong’s watercolor series (with a dose of childlike dreaminess). Or indirectly, like Kelvin Atmadibrata’s origami and video artwork. But besides using the art form as a mere tool to bring across the message, is there anything more to the similarity? Well, I shall come back to that later.

Food + Family = Love

This is the second confession I am going to make for this essay- I really enjoy my interview with the artists. Despite being part of the curatorial team, I hardly know most of those involved in this exhibition. Through the excuse of needing to conduct interview with each of them for our exhibition blog, I had the opportunities to take a closer look at each artist’s definition of “Eat With Family” and themselves. I must say that I surfaced from this experience, a much humbled person and awe-struck by the deep-rooted and far-reaching influence of family in our lives.

For many, a sure way to build a family relationship is through sharing a meal together. For Joanna Chen, this meaning is stretched to mean having a home-cooked meal in a physical home. Though not intentional, Betsy Toh’s work depicted a family dinner scene at home. In this regard, the warmth and love of a family seem best captured by a table of food, surrounded by you family members, in your most familiar physical environment, your home. Yes, noticed that I prefer to use the word “home” rather than “house”. As Vincent Chow explained, a house may not necessarily be a home.

Annie Chong used her usual style of imageries, a cloud that was, in fact, smoke coming from mum’s cooking, groups of charming animals enclosed in a safe environment which is telling of our innate desire to feel protected which we can find in our families and friends.  Yong Hwang would prefer the viewers to explore their family relationships through the staples we place on our dinner table. Whichever imagery we use on you, we like you to ponder on the meaning of family, or even friends, in your life. What is their effects or necessity?

There are two art groups in our midst- Artloft and Pauseability. For this current exhibition, Pauseability, a group of amateur artists of varied ages, created a series of their Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) based on this theme. Artloft decided to use a novel multi-dimensional method to impart the importance of life skills and kinship values through re-enacting the whole scenario of preparing food for the family. For both groups, this exhibition gave an opportunity to allow the group members to explore the theme of kinship through the familiar technique of cardmaking for one, and the other, a wonderful teaching and learning opportunity for the kids and teachers. Through showcasing their final products, we hope that you, the audience, can bring with them a part of their learning experiences, of the importance of time spent together as a family and how art can relate that message to the young and old.

Family (+ Food) = Who We Are

Now if you and me are to take a step back and look at the big picture, we will see the implication of our family upbringing that affects you and I in the long run. In this aspect, Vincent Chow and Kelvin Atmadibrata explore the relationship between parents and children. Even if the parents are the authoritative figures in a household, does it mean what they do are right all the time? And on a deeper level, how much of their belief shaped ourselves and make us who we are now? I hope their installations can encourage you to take an inward look in your role(s) as a parent and/or child and outwardly, how this family behavior affects your surrounding friends and closed ones, and even shape our society as a whole.

(Food time) = Communication = Family

It is interesting (or should I say uncanny) that there are two artists, not knowing each other or the work each is presenting, believe that television is the bane of family time spent together.  For both Rin and Grace Foo, through their installations, questioned the amount of time we spend on our modern city electronics in exchange for time spent with family. Moses Sia’s work, NonDisposable, asked the question if this was shaped by our modernism, where many thing, including mealtime with our family, had to be instantaneous ad fast? As what Sun Wahyu further illustrated, quality time with family would mean retreating to a comfortable environment to be together without distraction. Communication is the key element in these pieces.

Family (+ Food) = Art = Imperfection of the Perfect

Being an Asian born and bred locally, I must say that we are not exactly the expert in the fine art of communication. But we get by and we think we perceive when family love is expressed. Perhaps the ability to communicate (or the lack of it) is the key to the present tussle between the older and younger generations of our days.

In my pieces, you will see disagreements and reconciliation between a daughter and her parents brought about by food. And perhaps I need to clarify this, the emotions drawn on the canvas pertained to the state of mind then as expressed in the writing on the canvases. It was not about emotions on its own. Say for instance, you might be angry at what your mum told you but it would be anger at that her particular speech. This anger would likely be tinged with a sense of tenderness still, towards her. Or say, you might be confused over the next best decision but your confusion was about satisfying your desire or your parents’. It was like disorder within an order. Dissatisfaction warped in a bubble of love.

When I looked at my finished art works, I could always find some faults, or weakness in my work. And that was when I suddenly realized, that art, perhaps, even with your best intention, may not satisfy most the time, or even all the time for some of us. And this goes for our family relationships, we try our best to make it work and there will be (many) times when we flop but we will continue to try nevertheless; because we know it is worth every effort we put in. To have a family is like having a perfect gift, for the imperfect us.

And art will always be there, for me to document my imperfect tries with my best intended message.

A long-awaited telephone interview with Joanna after her constant stream of work events.

Catherine: What makes you want to participate in this exhibtion despite your busy schedule!?

Joanna: This theme has a special place in my heart; and I believe, is close to many people’s hearts as well. There are not many art exhibitions or presentations on the theme of family.

C: From the look of your submission, it seems to be presented in a very personal way.

J: Yes, this theme resonated in me immediately when I heard of it so I decided to join no matter how busy I might be. I believe food preparation is a sign of love but sadly, not many appreciates it. I love home-cooked food! I am always very happy when my friends invite me back to their homes for a home-cooked meal (I can sense her smiling at the end of the line). It seems that people don’t seem to enjoy eating together as a family at home anymore.

C: Hmm… it looked like you define the physical home to be very much related to the concept of a family.

J: Yes (smiles again).

C: Did you find it difficult to present your concept?

J: The concept isn’t difficult to present, i just present the message as it is. However I’m not so sure if people can get the hint that home-cooked food is definitely much better and healthier than take-away food!

C: Do you find any difference in your art style this time compared to your previous works?

J: Well, not really… but this is the first time I’m doing part installation. And it’s more collage style than what I did previously (“that’s what I have noticed!”). It is a little different from the past though I won’t consider it to be a major break-through. I hope to continue to explore new techiniques such as silkscreen printing.

C: Any advice to others on how to balance work with interest in arts?

J: By participating in exhibitions such as this (laughs)! I think it’s important to expose to different forms of arts, example going to galleries overseas. During my recent trip to Beijing, I visited several galleries and noticed how different their arts are from ours. It is important to keep our mind open. And to keep honing your skills, even doodling during work helps! It helps to keep the flame of interest alive.

Artloft is an art centre dedicated in children’s art which is located at 8Q SAM. They have been actively promoting and providing children with a space of creativity. Artloft too exposes their kids to the world of contemporary art which will be reflected on their works in this exhibition.

Telephone interview with Wong Seet Fun from Artloft, the founder.

Catherine: Tell us about your upcoming exhibition piece for this project. I heard it would be a multi-dimensional work.

Seet Fun: This is the first time we are experimenting with such a project actually. We have about 14 kids, led by 2 older ones, about 14-15 years old, to re-create a whole process of preparing food for the family. This process is documented on film and video by the 2 older children as a third party and these will be displayed during the exhibition. Some paintings inspired during the process will be showcased as well.

C: Wow, sounds like an ambitious project. What inspires you to come up with such a conceptual work?

SF: Yes, the uncertainties and amount of planning that all of us including the teachers, have to cope with. When we first heard of the theme, we threw the idea to the floor for brainstorming and the kids gave some suggestions and feedback. Along the way, the concept was formed but as it was a very new concept, the teachers did much of the leading and shaping the project. To us, the most important thing is to teach different skill sets to the children according to their age. For instance, the older ones have to decide their approach and concept to showcase this story. Should this be a recording from a personal perspective or a third person account? For the younger ones, each has to decide the menu for each family and the practical steps in carrying out the process of getting this meal ready for the family. Of course, this includes getting the family together on the ‘grand’ day where the actual family mealtime will be carried out and be videoed and photographed. This teaches decision-making process, presentation skills and teamwork to the children. At the end of the day, we like to re-create the bonding time for the whole process of food preparation to the point of having a meal together.

C: How do you and the teachers feel about leading this project with 14 children? Any issues you have encountered?

SF: It is a feat indeed! (Laughs). As this is also something new to us [teachers], we are learning along the way as well. It took us about 4 to 6 weeks of planning and preparation and I’m glad we are into the final phase of this project [as of 17 April 2010].

C: Tell us a little about Artloft and its’ objective.

SF: I started Artloft after I returned to Singapore from England. Over here, I realized that the art questions threw up often revolved around factual questions such as the “style of the artist in this painting”, as opposed to conceptual questions such as “why did the artist’s use this style to paint this?” I believed art can be so much more interesting and inspiring if we direct our children to ask more conceptual and relational questions so this brought about Artloft. That was about 10 years ago. Now we have children as young as 13 months old up to adults as old as 65 years old. They don’t attend the same class but as I teach fine arts, and I hold qualification in childhood education, I am able to handle both spectrum of art coaching.

C: Do you think the mindset of Singaporeans have shifted in regards to art appreciation? Especially when compared to a more matured market such as Europe.

SF: Well, from the fact that we have parents sending in their children as young as 13 months old for our art class, I believe Singaporeans are learning to see the importance and relevance of art appreciation in building long-term skill sets. It used to be that parents will be exasperated when they couldn’t see their 2 year-olds or younger ones doing a good perspective drawing but now, many can understand that anyone below 2 can’t draw much except abstract paintings! (Tone slight exasperated by now) I’m glad though, this mindset is slowing changing (Smile).

C: (Curators) We are glad too.

Artist who are involved in the making of Artloft’s piece :

1.Rachel Lim Shuan Min Age:  11 yrs old School:  St. Nicholas Girls’  School

2.Ong Jing Ru, Cheryl Age:  5 yrs old School:  St. Francis Xavier Kindergarten

3. Kristen Zhang Age:  6 yrs old School:  Mindchamps Preschool Pte Ltd

4. Ryan Suey Bo Xun Age:  6 yrs old School:  St. Andrew’s Junior School

5. Wang JieYing Age:  5 yrs old School:  HDB childcare Center

6. Hsieh en Tse Age:  5 yrs old School:  Bridge Montssorri

7. Zach Lau En Meng Age:  6 yrs old  School:  Temasek Primary School

8. Chen Yu Hsin, Jason Age:  6 yrs old School:  Mee Toh School

9.Billie Mah Wei Wen Age:  6 yrs old School:  Red Swastika School

10. Samantha Lee Age:  6 yrs old School:  Singapore Chinese Girls’ School

11. Tan Charmaine Age:  8 yrs old School:  River Valley Primary School

12. Amanda Ang Tze Ting Age:  14 yrs old School:  St. Nicholas Girls’ School

13. Amelia Fong Su-Yin Age: 15 yrs old School:  SOTA, School Of The Arts

14. Sharleen Hu Age:  6 yrs old School:  Fairfield Methodist School (Pri)

Eat with Family Project

ART LOFT is proud to work with 14 children to present a multi-dimensional art installation based on the theme – Eat with Family. Today’s parents in Singapore are often over protective of their children. They tend not to involve them in house chores, which include preparation of meals at home. There are also families who rarely cook their meals at home. As a result, many Singaporean children are ignorant of the time and trouble it takes to prepare meals at home. Hence, when Art Loft was faced with the Eat with Family project, we wanted to enrich the children’s experience by guiding them through a journey of conceptualizing, creation and serving their families to a meal prepared by them. We wanted to expose the children to a different kind of art making, not just the usual pen and paper or brushes and paint experience. We wanted them to plan, design and execute the whole event. It was going to be a design lesson, drawing and painting lesson, cooking lesson and last but not least, a performance piece by these 13 children.

The first part of the program focuses on where the children enjoy eating with their family. It could be simply at home, at their favourite restaurant or even a picnic by the beach. A scene of their family meal at their desired location is captured in a 3d collage. In this collage, the children are not only taught to be sensitive to the physical details that shape the environment of the place they eat at but they are also taught to perceive and present this environment in 3d. The notion of depth of space is simplified to a fore-ground, mid-ground and back-ground frame in each collage and as the details added to each frame overlay, the children’s family meal at the dining room, sushi restaurant etc. come alive rich in its sense of place.

In this second part of the program, the children undertake the task of preparing a meal for their family. Preparation work begins from planning the menu. The children talk about what to cook for their family from starters right to their favourite dessert. They then proceed to design the menu and placemats to be used on the actual meal day. For most of the children, cooking is a first time experience. They learn to cut, pour, scoop, roll, toss, stir, all for a delicious meal for their family. They also learn to fold napkins and lay the table with the placemats and menus prepared earlier. Finally it is time to serve and sit down for a well-earned meal with their family. This entire process is documented in video and photographs and this time, the children are not only the little artists of their meal preparation, but also the subject matter of a video installation and photo-story collage.

Annie was originated from Malaysia but she has been building her roots in the creative industry here in Singapore. Her works are whimsical, playful and it forces you to see yourself in a child-like way. Catherine dug out more about the cutesy characters behind Annie’s works.

Catherine: What makes you interested to join the exhibition?

Annie: It’ll be my first exhibition in Singapore. I’ve been a full-time artist in Singapore for about 2 years and still need to widen my circle of contacts. I hope to use this opportunity to widen my exposure and my circle of artist friends.

C: Tell us more about your art pieces.

A: These are 3 pieces of art works not related to each other. Each piece speaks of a scenario of what family bonding means to me personally. These personal stories come from inspiration with my relationship with my parents, as well as childhood stories. Writing is inspiring for me as well so I’ll be putting a short description for each painting. As I used to be a jewelry designer, I may incorporate this elements in my pieces as well.

C: Tell us a little more about your style.

A: My present style and theme is termed as “Apple Rain”. It’s figurative. Apple represents hope and heart and it’s refreshed after the rain, thus symbolizes the renewal of the spirit. I use vibrant colors to attract the children and hope to fire up their imagination with my childlike imageries. I like nature so you can find such imageries throughout my series.  I usually go back to my hometown in Kluang to get inspirations.

C: You have been using this theme for awhile, any plans to move on in your contributions?

A: I’m starting a black & white series which is a more playful series and I’m starting to use muted tones for my “Apple Rain” series. Yes, I’m starting to move away from my usual style *giving a shy smile*.

Moses Sia is the main person behind Pauseability, a group of creative souls who meet up once a month in ATC (Artist Trading Card; see below) sessions. Catherine went out to find out more about him and the whole crew behind Pauseability.

Catherine : Tell us more about your work?

Moses : These are pen and ink work on disposable plates and I am placing these on a canvas to represent a table. The initial idea is to make us ponder the concept of a replaceable culture, one of instant gratification. I have wanted it to look like porcelain plate design where these are usually kept as heirloom pieces. the disposable cutlery will juxtapose against the concept of longevity. Hopefully this will make people question the value of family time in this fast-food generation.

C: What prompts you to be part of this exhibition?

M: When I was an educator, my school was involved with Eat With Family Day campaign at its early stage. I guessed my early involvement with this campaign sparked my interest in this project. Besides, I like to have my personal thoughts on this topic as well. My take is this, family meal times are important but is it an event that is quickly wrapped up as in all other activities in this disposable culture.

(Went on…) There was an interesting incident that I observed that triggered this act piece.  During our Chinese New Year celebration this year, my brother decided to use disposable cutleries for the reunion dinner in view of sheer number of people coming for this event and he wanted to get rid of these excess disposables.  A couple of the relatives actually voiced their concern as they reckoned this to be an un-environmentally conscious. I thought their first reaction would be to complain using disposables to be inappropriate for such an important occasion (laughed).

Pauseability

C: This is an interesting name! Tell us more about this group.

M: Pauseability is actually a collective term for this group where we used to meet every once a month in a shop where I used to own- Pauseability. This was a handicraft shop where people were encouraged to create their handiworks with the raw materials available in the shop. I like to think that our motto was, and still is,  “The ability to pause”.  We do what we call, Artist Trading Card (ATC), where the members make their 2.5” x 3.5” trading cards and exchange with their fellow members.

C: How long has this group been meeting up and how big is this group now?

M: Come August this year, it would be 3! (Grinned). We have about 11-12 members during each meeting. It’s a well-mix between the regulars and newcomers, and between the genders. The youngest is the child of one of our members, the oldest is a 65-year-old gentleman. Besides trading cards, we have a member to demonstrate and teach a new art technique to the group, this takes up most of the time during the session. It keeps the session interesting and open-minded, attracting new members each time.  We hope this can stimulate our minds and constantly challenge each member.

C: Were there ever arguments or disagreement resulted from the exchange of the trading cards, such as refusing to trade with the other party or criticizing the standard of work presented?

M: Well… there isn’t any such incidents and in fact, I don’t foresee that happening. The members know how to pitch their standards of work against one another. This is also another learning process that the group members will go through. If there is a reason someone is not able to pick the trading card from another, we will encourage that person to share the story behind the work and through the sharing process, the work can resonate with the listener.

C: What’s the greatest achievement of this group?

M: The greatest achievement is not so much of the fact that we can put up our own annual exhibitions or participate in others but rather we see the members grow through their experimentation and art experience. Over the last few years, we have seen the progression of the members and their art pieces. this is the greatest pride I have of our group.

Interview with Rin Ioka over Skype tele-call. Through limited comprehension of English and Japanese languages and checking out her blog site at the same time, Catherine and Rin managed to complete this conversation and came to appreciate each other’s style and works in the process.

Catherine: Tell us how you come to know this project.

Rin: It went way back to 2007 where I met Kelvin in Tokyo during one of my exhibitions, Recycle Garden. One year later, we collaborated on a similar project entitled Mobile Garden in Singapore through his invitation. This time round, when he mentioned this exhibition he intended to do, Eat With Family, where it centered on the theme of family bonding, I jumped at this opportunity.

C: Right… how about sharing a little on your background before we continue…

R: Okie. I’m based in Tokyo where I teach little children between the ages of 4 to 12.  (“So do you only teach Arts?”) Oh! I teach on a variety of subjects like Japanese language, mathematics and arts… There’s a gallery that belongs to my school and I would display my art works there. (“What kind of art works do you dabble in usually?”) Hmm… I do all kinds of arts like origami and collage… I like to play with materials and for this piece, I’m experimenting with felt cloth. And oh yes, I like to take photographs too (a string of laughter). No, I don’t use DSLR. I used to when I had my dad’s old manual camera but it broke down. Now, I just use a Nikon. (“Your photographs are colorful!”- a pearl string of laughter broke out again) Yah, I like colors too. (“Any tendency towards a particular hue?”) No… I like the complexity of colors and how they interplay with one another.  I like to write too so I would incorporate some poems or writings in my art works at times (you can see this in her piece for this exhibition).

I’m interested in relationships…

C: This brings to the next question. What makes you interested in this exhibition?

R: I’m interested in relationship between parents and their children. You know, it’s like people would come home late and then spend most of their time in front of the television. They should just turn off the TV! (Another string of crystal-like laughter broke out. Now, both of us were at the web page where it displayed some of the works she’ would showcase for the exhibition).

C: (Of course, this brings us to the next question yet again) Q: Tell us more about your artwork for this upcoming exhibition.

R: This piece is titled “Turn off the lights, let’s talk”. This is basically expressing the desire to switch off all distractions and to create an opportunity for parents to talk to the children.  In Japan, parents and even children come home late because of other activities (it seems to be a common disease in Asia cities). And this theme has been on my mind… (“Oh! So by the way, is your food related to food in any way?” Hmm… no… not for my piece here. When I heard the title of this exhibition, this was the message that I have… Haha… (You should know by now, that I love to hear the clear laughter from this sweet girl).

C: So, tell us about your relationship with arts and where/how do you find your inspirations usually?

R: I’ve been doing arts since young and I just find it so… hmm… how do I put it? It gives life! (Another string of laughter).  And teaching children is inspiring for me too. I find them very creative and they stimulate my imagination. That’s why I’ve been teaching for the past ten years (laughs again).  That’s why I use katakana (footnote: one of the Japanese language writing system) in my work, as well as bright colors because kids can understand katakana (more than kanji) and they like colors (footnote: kanji is the most difficult writing system in the Japanese language). And I sing too… (by now, she has directed me to her blog site showcasing her band- Karinba). We sing like once a week and I will write the lyrics (“Oh wow! So you don’t sing covers but your own creations!!” Truly impressed by now. She’s really multi-talented!). You can see that my work has a lot to do with relationships which are an inspiration to me. I like to explore family relationship, mother-child relationship, friendship… sometimes on romantic relationship but not usually (laughter trails off…)

Wahyu is one of the three non-Singaporean artists involved in this exhibition. A young artist from Indonesia, he has been actively participating in many exhibitions in Jakarta. This will be his first exhibition in Singapore. Catherine spoke to him through e-mail to know more about this young creative talent.

Catherine : What draws you to participate in this exhibition?

Wahyu : The theme! It is close (“kinda”) to the usual themes of my artworks. Something related about social relationship between myself to my surroundings. In this case family, which is not only about my own family but also about everyone around me that gave me sort of impact to my life.

C: Can you tell us a little bit more about your art piece?

W: In my painting “We Could Grow Up Together”, it’s about the feeling of being lonely as we grow up. As one lives s in a very busy city, we tend to be more ignorant about anything else but ourselves (become more individualistic). Sadly, it’s only at the end of the day when we realize just how lonely we are. This piece is a reassurance that speaks of hope, that there is still hope- for you are not alone. As the title speaks for it-self, it’s about not giving up hope in this world and you can carry on. Because for me, when I forget about these hopes sometimes, it can make me feel so desperately lonely.

C: (Probe further) So can I say that this piece stems not so much from your personal family but a broad aspect of close social relationships that encompasses more than the immediate family? Are your friends in the same sphere of influence as your family then?

W: It depends. Both my family and friends have their own influences over me. The family itself is not less important than the friends or vice versa. This piece is based on what I feel about my past and my daily life as i grow up and my introspection on both aspects. But yes, friends can be a family too (in a different way).

C: Just curious, does your piece in any way relates to food?

W: I don’t think it’s related in a literal way. For me, food,or meal times, is a medium where you can share your time and yourself, and being together at a table. A meal-time is a chance for social interaction. Because personally, i don’t think one day is enough to build a healthy relationship, you need to maintain it, so “We Could Grow Up Together” is more about the process and time of growing up.

C: What inspires you to come up with such an art piece?

W: I don’t know if it was a coincidence or not (well maybe not, I don’t really believe in coincidence, haha), someone left a comment on my blog and his blog address is wecouldgrowuptogether. Prior to this, I had a rough sketch on what I was going to paint, but when I read the blog name, my sketch was completed. The title struck a bell in me as it really represented my own feeling about extreme loneliness, stress, sadness and keeping the faith.

C: Tell us more about your style and motivation as an artist.

W: When people asked me about my style, to be honest, i don’t really know and never really think about it, haha (this guy laughs a lot!). I paint because i want to. Well, maybe i belong to micropop (?!?), if i am correct about the concept, haha. If you asked me about my influences, I would say it mostly come from Japan… Manga, Art, Design and everything from this place. My motivation is simple. I just want to share what I feel,  on loneliness, sadness, happiness or  hope to stay alive (and sane) in this world, haha. Well, i don’t really hope everyone will understand it, but i think there are some people who may share the same feeling as me. I want my piece to touch these people. There is nothing more wonderful to know your art piece can mean something (or bring change) to someone else.

C: Well since you mentioned that your greatest motivation came from knowing your works have touched someone’s heart. Any particular memorable experience so far? And as you have said, we are living in a crowded and busy city, do you have such moments of motivation, ie when someone shows their appreciation of your work, constantly and from who?

W: Haha, when i think about it again, my motivation to make an art-work is because i want to understand more about myself, actually. As i paint, the process of creation makes me think and understand about myself, little by little. But its true i wish my works could touch someone’s heart, even though so far i haven’t heard from anyone who connects with my artworks, haha. At present, the compliments come from my friends, through the blog. Every time you get compliment for your hard works, it’s nice and motivating. Even if it’s a simple comment such as “the color is nice” or “it’s cute”, well it still feels good, haha. Hopefully with time, people will understand more about my artworks. It’s a process i guess, both for me as the painter, and the audiences as well.

Betsy Toh is the creative brain behind www.knottybicsie.com.sg. She found a new passion in knitting and crochet, an extremely addictive & therapeutic hobby that she picked up from her mother. In EAT WITH FAMILY, she will be showing her mixed-media piece which transform a photographic image into an interesting blend of yarns, paper, paint and threads.

Catherine interviewed her.

Catherine: Tell us more about your work.

Betsy: The picture is one that I took at the recent Chinese New Year Eve reunion dinner but to me, this is just symbolic of a typical family bonding time. Having meals together as a family is an important ritual during my growing years.

Besides that, the knitting and crochet symbolizes the close-knit familial relationships that weaves and inter-connects with each other. This cheeriness will be represented by the selected warm color scheme.

The instant Kelvin approached me with this theme, this image was already formed at the back of my mind. This theme is definitely seen from a very personal perspective.

C: What draws you to participate in this exhibition?

B: When I first came to know of this national initiative- Eat With Family Day, I didn’t think much of it. Family meals were a common activity that I did with my family so I didn’t see the fuss over it. But now that I’ve married and moved out of my parent’s place, I’ve come not to take this activity for granted. It requires effort to take the time to have a meal with your family. It is something that’s close to our hearts but easily overlooked.

I also strongly believe that character building happens during meal times, especially when the young ones pick up table manners from the older ones.

C: Why did you choose knitting and crochet as your art medium now?

B: As a visual learner, I have watched my mum doing knitting and crochet through all these years but there was no intention to pick up this skill till three years ago where until when I started having doubts about my career path. Then, I told her that I wanted to complete a project within five days. And I did, it was a knitted baby top with my mum’s help. Through these five days, I found it to be a very therapeutic experience. I did a lot of soul searching during this process. It was a very personal journey as I did the crochet.

I started with installation work as an artist. It was an impersonal approach as I handled mainly mirrors and surveillance cameras then. I was attempting to do social commentaries with my pieces. Gradually, it shifted to a more personal tone but a very melancholic one. Knitting and crocheting brings out a different side of me, I use colorful yearns and cheerful tones to symbolize my work.

Now that I have come out of that dark period in my life, I can see how this form of art can bring relief and healing to others. For instance, my students will often take the two-hour lesson as a self-therapy session, one where they can set some time aside for themselves.  To me, it is still a very personal and therapeutic journey till now.

C: How different do you see this form of art from the rest of the art forms such as painting?

B: Knitting and crocheting is seen as a craft rather than a fine art skill. Hence, many feel less threatened by it. It is a skill that they can convince themselves to pick up unlike painting for instance.

Catherine met her for coffee and they had a good chat.

Catherine: What makes you want to participate in this exhibition?

Yong Hwang :I like to have more exposure in this area without any ties to my school [she’s presently in college now and taking Arts as a subject as well]. I hope to be more involved in the arts community but it has to be balanced with my school commitments. At present, it is a little tough with my heavy school load.

C: [Probes further] Does the theme of this exhibition appeals to you?

YH: It is somewhat appealing [!?!] . I like food.  In order for me to come up with this concept, I did a little bit of concept research and finally came up with the idea.

C: Tell us a little bit more of your work.

YH: My work is centered on the common food took during family meal times to express the bonding in family. The focus is on grains as it is an essential part of the diet. As I am more comfortable in conventional medium so I chose to present my work in acrylic paints. Usually the message for my work will surface during the process of painting. It’s a very thought-through process for me. Spontaneity usually comes when I’m doing sketches but I won’t want to show these. It’s too preliminary.

C: You are so young still! Where do you see your relationship with Arts going forward?

YH: I have been indulging in Arts since young. I enrolled in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) when I was very young (can’t remember the age) and was taught by the school till recently where it did not have classes for my age group. I’m considered too old [Haha]. In school, I’m exposed to contemporary art forms such as digital design and photography as opposed to what NAFA was teaching in conventional art forms. I like to be an architect, as it will combine my love for arts with science. No, my parents didn’t have to drag me to NAFA initially. I asked for such lessons, that was the reason they enrolled me in NAFA.

C: Do you find it difficult to reconcile arts with science?

YH: No. I find it similar approaching arts and science actually. But I believe I have yet to discover more.