Why Can’t I?
In the early 15th century, the first heels were created for upper class men and the monarchs to show their status. Heels created that time were of impractical use, adding that the upper classes have always used impractical, uncomfortable and luxurious clothing to announce their privileged status. This artwork shows a pump heel that is coated with veins like structure to show its durability and firmness. I chose this art work to question the society in this modern era. Why does our modern society disapprove men wearing heels? Why does male celebrities are appreciated but ordinary people are not? Our Society is cruel, full of negative judgements. These heel represent bravery, power and hope. Hope for the change, acceptance and equality for all.
The Beautiful Side of Anger
There is the experience of being present with anger in a way that it actually connects you to yourself and others. Even if anger is a challenging feeling, it can feel clean, safe and empowering. It is possible to express anger in ways that keeps people from feeling attacked, shamed or abandon. This sculpture shows exactly how I felt when I was making my final art piece. The hand sculpture shows anger and rage. I decided to combine these two art work because of what happen to my experiment where I tried doing marbling on my sculpture until a few hours later, the paint came off. My sculpture is a beautiful representation of anger as red symbolizes it. The center of the sculpture is hollow which represent the feeling of lost and emptiness.
MY ROOM
MATERIALS: PAPER MACHE SCULPTURE, CARD BOARD, GOLD ALUMINIUM FOIL, PERSONAL BELONGINGS
This installation and sculpture using paper mache and wires to create a mould of my hands requires patience and perseverance. This installation represents my hard work and dedication on the things that I build overtime. My hands represents my hard work and the sacrifices I made throughout my journey here in Singapore for 13 years. This golden room gave me the shelter I need during my hard times and also good times. I decided to put the gold aluminium foil around the structure of the room because my room is valuable to me. Every object that I have collected, holds a sentimental value to me which is something that cannot be taken away from me easily.
NEVER ENOUGH
MATERIALS: UNUSED CLOTHES, FASHION TAGS, ACRYLIC PAINT, CANVAS 80 cm X 100 cm
As consumers worldwide buys more clothes, the growing number of market for cheap items and new styles is taking a tole on the environment. 85% of all textiles go to the dump each year which sends thousands of bits of plastic into the ocean, affecting all the living things. The dye of the fabrics give out chemicals, which contaminate the lakes and rivers where majority of textile companies are located. As a result, marine animals will be affected and this will result in many endangered species of marine animals and many families will be affected by it. Before purchasing your clothes, always think before you click.
Controlled
MATERIALS: CURRENT AFFAIRS ABOUT ABUSE IN SINGAPORE, YARN, PAPER MACHE SCULPTURE.
How would you feel if you are controlled by a stranger and treats you like a puppet? The feeling of someone controlling you against your will and not being able to do something about it even when you are screaming on top of your lungs. Being controlled like a puppet is like when a person expects, compels or requires others to cater their own need even at others expense. The controlling person usually targets an individual and dominates them in a self serving manner just like a person who plays with puppets. Any form of harassment is an abuse and abuse should not be tolerated regardless.
HIDDEN COST
LIVE PROJECT
Client: Artist Margret Wibmer
One of the most common sources of child labor is the garment industry. Many fashion companies encourage child labor by pressuring fast fashion businesses to find ever-cheaper labor and production sources in order to meet demand in the first-world countries. Children are seen as obedient, unable to speak up for themselves, and thus unlikely to cause problems for their boss. Children are sometimes thought to be better at jobs than adults because of their small hands, which allow them to sew on small details. When it comes to child labor, the garment industry is one of the most important industries to reform; without it, the lives of these children will be wasted. We must all look beyond the beauty of the garments in the fast fashion industries and consider the children who must forego their childhoods in order to work for low wages and to leave their school and families behind. Everything has a hidden cost; it is up to you to look deeper and see what these industries are doing. Always consider your purchase before making one as you will never know whose little finger sew your clothes.
CONCEPT
I want my audience to notice how beautiful this shirt is on the outside, and how it has unique patterns with crystals all over it. The outer part of this shirt, with white paintings with crystals on it, as some of you may not notice, these are the 7 countries identified by UNICEF that are known for just labours. It is not a cloud or a camouflage pattern but a lot of you may think of it that way, just like consumers see nice clothes online or in fast fashion outlets, their products are designed to blind people with its beauty. That is why many people buy what they want rather than what they need. Just like many beautiful clothes in the store which represent this shirt's beauty concealed and masked the fact that the majority of fast fashion companies employ children as workers. The majority of these children in The third world countries are forced to work by human traffickers who keep them hidden behind closed doors, and some of these children are sold by their families to pay off debts due to poverty. Because these children are innocent and have no idea what to do or who to ask for help, they feel trapped, just like the cage I made inside the shirt, which resembles the shopping carts found in many fast fashion stores. The fashion tags that surround the cage represents fast fashion companies covering up their wrongdoings and deceiving their customers into believing that the products they are receiving are genuine and cruelty-free, when in reality, the vast majority of them are not. The needles that encircle the fabrics represent the pain and hardship that these children have to go through to work in the industry that even an adult will find it difficult. The shirt's workmanship before I painted everything is impeccable, and who knows if it was made by these children or not. That's why I made it hard and sturdy to represent the children's efforts and how difficult their living conditions had to be in order for them to survive. So always think before you buy, as you will never know who's little finger sew your clothings.
CHALLENGES
The challenges I faced while completing my project was the use of different mediums that I am unfamiliar with, such as starch and resin. Starch, fabric paint, and clear resin are the three mediums used in the creation of this shirt. I coated the shirt with four bottles of starch, which worked out well because the shirt can stand up on its own, but the fabric becomes soft after a few hours due to the warm temperature, the whole structure fell off because of that and the white starch also created a white stain around the shirt which gives it a mouldy and dirty look which is not something that I am going for. I decided to paint the whole shirt with blue fabric paint. The fabric paint made it stiffer, but just in case, I coat the entire shirt with resin to ensure that it doesn't fall off again. This problem is solved by watching a few YouTube videos and trusting myself to experiment with different approaches to complete this project.
Entrap By Imagination
Fabric Installation
RESEARCH
I did many research on different types of parasites and bacteria that control and invade their victims' movement, senses, and behavior. After doing extensive research, I concluded that Cordyceps parasites are the only species that are more relatable to my experience and that I can conceptualize in my project. Studies have shown that cordyceps only invades arthropod species such as ants, moth, caterpillars, grasshoppers, and a few species of spiders. Once the fungi landed on the victim's body, it will act strange as the network of roots infiltrated its muscles. The victim’s body will be taken over by cordyceps, also known as parasitic fungus.
What it does is, it floods the victim's brain with chemicals, drugging it by compelling its victim to head where the conditions are perfect that has the right amount of light and humidity, a perfect place for species of mushroom, fungi, and parasite to live. The parasite that is growing inside the victim's body, forces them to clamp down in a death bite and that’s when the cordyceps reveals its true nature. The cordyceps parasite will appear and sprout around its victim’s body like a mushroom. From there it also releases spores around, infecting arthropods in its vicinity.
