Deeply affected by environmental causes & the pain of seeing more greenery spaces in Sg taken away, I start to question how can I as an Artist with some set of artistic skills continue to create interesting ideas, views and thoughts about environmental sustainability for others who may not yet have understand the impact of our urban development vs green spaces.
I started first by understanding the history of cultivation, food & social structures, food population & development.
At the side, I was reading up other books about Tropical Plants as I was eager to find out what and how did plants and food came to come about on our island; what were the original plants found in Malaya and how did we used those plants in our livelihood.
In this process, I narrowed closer into weeds and wildflowers which has lived longer and survived harder in drought conditions. I looked at these plants as a concept of 'rejection' and 'neglection' where weeds are often pulled straight from the ground when it is grown nearer to other plant foods that is being farmed and harvested for. This idea of 'competition' amongst plants can be seen in our competition for urban spaces and green spaces in Singapore. I saw similarities in this structure. As I read more into weeds & wildflowers, I discover many have documented and experimented with these plants for medicinal uses. I recall on the island of Pulau Ubin, there is a medicine man who grows his own medicine for his own treatment.
In a recent exhibition which I had curated and contributed an artwork in, I presented a collection of weeds and wildflowers from Singapore to discuss its medicinal value in an installation for the SUM>Parts 'When Artists Meet The Public' art show. The show was to gather an Artist to work with a Non Artist to explore and discuss issues and concerns each of them had about Singapore.
I invited an environmental activist, Ms Olivia Choong to collaborate with me on discussing the role of greenery spaces and sustainable practices. The resulting collaborating was an installation.
Collaborative work with Olivia Choong for SCYA's SUM > Parts 'When Artists Meet The Public' - SCYA's 5th Group Art Show
To read catalogue of the exhibition: http://scyaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/sumpart2.pdf
I started first by understanding the history of cultivation, food & social structures, food population & development.
At the side, I was reading up other books about Tropical Plants as I was eager to find out what and how did plants and food came to come about on our island; what were the original plants found in Malaya and how did we used those plants in our livelihood.
In this process, I narrowed closer into weeds and wildflowers which has lived longer and survived harder in drought conditions. I looked at these plants as a concept of 'rejection' and 'neglection' where weeds are often pulled straight from the ground when it is grown nearer to other plant foods that is being farmed and harvested for. This idea of 'competition' amongst plants can be seen in our competition for urban spaces and green spaces in Singapore. I saw similarities in this structure. As I read more into weeds & wildflowers, I discover many have documented and experimented with these plants for medicinal uses. I recall on the island of Pulau Ubin, there is a medicine man who grows his own medicine for his own treatment.
In a recent exhibition which I had curated and contributed an artwork in, I presented a collection of weeds and wildflowers from Singapore to discuss its medicinal value in an installation for the SUM>Parts 'When Artists Meet The Public' art show. The show was to gather an Artist to work with a Non Artist to explore and discuss issues and concerns each of them had about Singapore.
I invited an environmental activist, Ms Olivia Choong to collaborate with me on discussing the role of greenery spaces and sustainable practices. The resulting collaborating was an installation.
Collaborative work with Olivia Choong for SCYA's SUM > Parts 'When Artists Meet The Public' - SCYA's 5th Group Art Show
To read catalogue of the exhibition: http://scyaproject.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/sumpart2.pdf
