I think there is a distinct possibility that an alternative Universe exists. Funny thing though...I think it exists right here and now on our wonderful planet. We've just got to harness it en mass. First we have to look and actually see....not just look.
I visited a truly amazing exhibition today created by Australian artist Katie Pye with other artists. The exhibition called Mantel of Beauty: Ceremony and the Divine was, "Inspired by the unifying nature of beauty, as it's expressed through religious ceremonies and traditions." The exhibition brings together Christian, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist ceremony and tradition through, "'Light' being used as a metaphor for God/Divinity contained in all religions", and that , "all diversity comes out of the same source." When I was inside this exhibition I felt I was experiencing what I imagine an alternative Universe to be like. A place where similarities are applauded and differences acknowledged as being gifts rather than reasons for conflict. The room is a total environment of sights, sounds and texture. Light is reflected off shining surfaces, truly beautiful fabrics and intricately patterned objects. Smaller spaces of wonder/worship are created within the swirls of fabric and sound. This exhibition is a must see. Tony Gould Gallery, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Sth Brisbane until 27 January.
I was so pleased to see another artist thinking in a similar way to me. My paintings are about the abundant possibilities of sharing, of noticing that at a fundamentl level all people are the same. We share the basic signs of life ie: heart beat and breath. We share the need for identity. We all share this planet. Our religions share many of the same seeds.
I believe artists can actually 'protest' more by focusing on those wonderful things we all share. This is not a denial of atrocity and stupidity, but why give these things attention? Surely this only assists in perpetuating the voices of atrocity and stupidity? A balance is needed and I am beginning to think artists of all kinds have a role to play in reminding people about the beauty we lose if war, oppression, global warming and all the other dreadful blights on our planet continue.
My painting above is Alternative Universe Gouache on paper, 30 x 42 cm unframed.
I decided to paint something without any thought of idea, concept or significance. I decided to experiment because I've noticed that attention currently seems to be given to art which is about the everyday, the ordinary and the mundane. Eg: images of animals, cars, everyday objects and almost cartoon-like spoofs on fashion etc and even some depicting war but in an obvious way. I've thought that maybe it is a reaction to the exhausting images of destruction, death and war which we all see daily in the media. The sense of powerlessness the ordinary person feels in the face of such enormous suffering and danger is palpable. Maybe a focus on the ordinary, everyday and the cartoonish reassures people that life is ok?
My work tends to be symbolic and layered. I get the impression some people find it difficult to understand or they feel anxious about it. I always say that each person can bring their own story...and people do. Those who have bought my paintings tell me they see something new every time they look. This is music to my ears. Many of these people have returned to buy more paintings. I love this too!
So, to Woman With Long Hair. Whilst I was painting I realised the woman was probably me. I have a long plait which falls down my back. My hair is extrordinarily frizzy. It drives me nuts and has always driven me nuts. Doing my hair before school used to take ages. I was always late for the school bus [I lived on a farm]. I remember my Mother chasing the bus in the car or me running carrying my heavy school bag with the big high school boys yelling out the bus windows, "Come on Titless!". And even at the age of 11 I was not titless....!!!! Of course that's why the boys teased me. I was 180 cm tall at 10 and well developed. So trying to run carrying a heavy bag in one hand and covering my chest with the other arm was extremely awkward. I'm sure I looked like an Amazonian goose.
Now to the present-In the morning I wake up and look into the mirror only to see Marge Simpson [Homer's long suffering wife]. Yep, my hair stands up on end and just won't fall flat. That's why I wear it in a plait...at least it is controlled. My hairdresser told me that as hair goes grey it gets even more wirey. This totally freaked me out, but over the last couple of years her words have come true. My 46 year old hair is going grey and Marge Simpson peers back at me from my mirror on a daily basis. Thank goodness there is no Homer character to complete the picture!
I go to the hairdresser about once every 12-18 months to get a trim...and get talked into various very expensive treatments which offer promises of silken hair. It never happens or if it does it lasts until the first wash. I visit the hairdresser when I cannot get my arms back far enough to finish my plait and I start to have chronic lower back aches because I'm bending backwards. This hair thing is a major health and identity issue in my life! I envy women who confidently visit the hairdresser regularly and seem to enjoy it!!!!!
Now that I have written all of this about my hair I think maybe it is quite funny....but it is also mundane and very ordinary. However, there maybe some seeds for another exhibition...an extraordinary ordinary one!
Woman With Long Hair and other paintings by me and other artists will be shown at the Doggett Street Gallery Christmas Exhibition on the night of Friday 15th December. 85 Doggett Street, Newstead, Brisbane. All the paintings in the exhibition will be 30 x 30 cm.
Shared History will be exhibited in Dubai at the group Australian exhibition 'A Gift Of Colour', Mondo Arte Gallery, Mall of the Emirates [Yep, where the indoor ski slope is!], Dubai. The Australian Ambassador, Mr. Jeremy Bruer will open the exhibition on 8th November. This painting was inspired by a conversation I had with an Arab woman in Abu Dhabi last year. We were talking about one of my paintngs in my exhibition at the Cultural Foundation. This painting was called Histories. We spoke for about half an hour about how wonderful it would be if the world focused on the similarites between people rather than the differences. It got me thinking about the concept of shared history. I had many similar conversations with other visitors to my exhibition. These people came from all over the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe with some from Australia and the UK.
Well, the $10,000 Redland Art Award was announced last night. 52 paintings were hung out of 380 submitted. So, whilst I did not win I am delighted to be amongst the shortlisted. The Redland Art Gallery is a regional gallery overseen by the local Shire Council. Redland is only about 45 minutes drive south east from Brisbane. I was impressed with the vision evident in how the gallery is operated and the speeches given by local Government entities and art lovers.
Art prizes are a totally 'interesting' phenomena...that's all I'll say now! Some artists avoid them and I can understand why. However, it is a thrill to be shortlisted. For anyone reading this that does not understand the process; basically artists are asked to submit a digital image of the work they want to enter plus entry fee and sometimes other documents such as a cv. Someone preselects from the images and those chosen artists are asked to send the actual painting to the competition. All artists who enter pay the entry fee which is not refundable if an artist is not selected. There are still some competitions where artists send the actual work to the venue prior to selection. A preselection process may still [and more often than not] takes place. In this scenario the artist pays for the entry fee and the freight to and from the venue. This latter scenario is more expensive for the artist, but sometimes a photo can make a good painting look bad and a bad painting look good! Some art prizes are acquisitive which means the winning work becomes the property of the gallery or whatever.
Updated: Erm, I felt that before you guys go on and on insulting the Xueling person, keep in mind that she is, OR so I heard, dunno if it's true, allegedly, Lee Hsien Yang's sister-in-law.
So you might just have your Singtel bill increase 10-fold mysteriously.
Unlimited is a painting which I have fallen in love with. I painted it after one of my visits to the United Arab Emirates. It has also brought me luck as it has been shortlisted for the Redland Art Award which is announced tomorrow night. Unlimited is exactly as the word means...anything is possible! There are a number of layers of paint on this large canvas. I dilute the paint to a watery consistencly with turps and linseed oil and then let the paint do its own thing. Each layer is treated this way until I am happy and then I use a small brush to make marks.
I have had an enormously busy week since I last posted, meetings, meetings and more meetings. My exhibition Pulse is still on and I believe lots of people have been to see it. It closes on November 4. I am very happy with the way the exhibition looks. And, it is countdown to the opening of the group Australian exhibition A Gift Of Colour at Mondo Arte Gallery in Dubai. It will be opened by the Australian Ambassador on Wednesday 8 November. I have already had some media coverage and another publication express an interest in doing a feature. Getting media coverage is SO much easier in the Middle East than here in Australia. In Dubai they love cultural news.
My friend Joan gave birth to the sweetest little girl!
It's so weird coz I've been seeing her with that big tummy for a long time, and suddenly it hits me that there is a life inside.
Capable of growing into a full adult and actually giving birth herself. Gulp.
I'm gonna steal the baby.
Baby Claire with Mommy! Just born yesterday (as in yesterday of the day this photo was taken)!
Her little hand is sooooo tiny! And warm and soft and... oh my womb is talking, ignore it.
Evil plots of babies to make you give birth: The typical finger grab.
Awwwww
Had to grab her from Joan for a while!
She finally opened her eyes... :D And what a cute turf of hair!
Advertorial
The haze has been going on for the past few days, yet all of us still have to go to work and face the dull toxic air, like it or not.
Well not all, some of us. Ahem.
People have been complaining about their various ailments, and the most common of all should be sore eyes.
I feel more for contact lens users... Now, besides having the usual debris and protein build-up, causing the lenses to dry up and be thoroughly uncomfortable, contact lens users still have to deal with extra smoke from the haze?!
Lucky for me, I am sponsored with Complete Blink Lens Drops. :D
Saviour
The product description says that "(Blink) is the only eye drop in the market that has hyaluronate, which draws moisture to the eyes a 1,000 times more efficiently."
I don't know what that means, but my eyes really feel a lot better when I use Blink after a long night of mahjong. =)
Fits perfectly in my emergency pouch
Especially now when there our PSI problem, better bring eyedrops with you all the time in case your eyes get dry - better than having sore eyes, huh?
Available at leading pharmacies and optic outlets. Costs $8.50 per 10ml bottle.
Decoration artist: Me. I love the funny bunny and cat and don't know what the other one is!
Decoration artist: Junne. The thing on her head supposed to be a crown.
Decoration artist: Junne. There are 3 headless people. Can you spot them?
Decoration artist: Me The yellow backdrop fell on my head as the photo was taken. Due to my talent in taking photos, I continued smiling nonplussed. Also notice how I managed to make this accident of a photo look nice.
Decoration artist: Junne. She called me a lao siao!
Decoration artist: Me I am pretty and Junne is a tyrant! Roarrr!
Junne and I went to PS's neoprint place and paid $10 for these! We were really happy coz it seemed like there something wrong with the machine, and the time limit for decorating is.... infinity!
So we stood there for like half an hour just adding the graphics on and on, was so fun :]
As you can see, all the Junne decorations are messy and cluttered while mine are super artisitic and lovely.
Nothing interesting in my life currently, except I have 3 ulcurs in a neat row on my lower lip. It's making my lips look very full and also reduces my appetite, so I can't say I really dislike them.
Today I was on a panel to discuss arts export. There is so much to say. The Federal Government is pushing for increased exports to assist with our national trade deficit. Cultural industries export is growing very quickly. Whilst there is assistance for the exporter in terms of advice, introduction to markets etc it is an activity which needs immense tenacity, confidence and a definite business approach because it is very expensive. However, there are rewards which include financial gain [or some recovery of costs] and incredible experiences.
I was asked today if my experiences overseas [mainly the Middle East] had affected my artistic expression. I have to say yes. What has affected me is the insight into the dreams, fears and hopes of ordinary people from all over the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe. The complete desire for a world of peace where similarities between people are rejoiced has imbued me with a sense of wonder, possibility and abundance. I have thought about those elements of life which we all share eg: heart beat, breath. I have thought about those things we apply to ourselves such as culture and religion which cause differences and unfortunatley often lead to conflict. However, culture and religion are signs of a basic urge which we all share. It is the urge for identity. Peel back those elements which we apply to ourselves and the basic urges are the same.
As an artist...where am I. I read some blogs by younger artists and I am overwhelmed by their confidence in revealing so much of themselves. I think they may regret it when they are older, but is this the maternal instinct to protect coming out? However, the art world is seduced by revelation, defiance and edginess and good luck to them. All I can say is that as one gets older there is plenty of interesting history! I'll keep mine to myself and let my art do the 'talking'.
Went to book club last night. I have a great book club. We do talk about books [a little!] and then we talk about a whole range of other topics. And because we are a group of 5 women with a lot of life experiences we talk about everything. Last night I showed the group Andrew McGahan's new satirical... thriller.... book...'Underground'. When I read it I could not put it down. It is like reading a cartoon where the picture in your head moves fast and furiously, and the characters are unreal playing actor-like roles. The book is a future history....one which seems bizarre, but the scary thing is that after September 11 we all know fact is stranger than fiction. I really recommend the book.
The photo above is one wall from my exhibition 'Pulse: Throb Vibrate Quiver Thrill Rhythm = Sign of Life @ www.doggett.com.au Got my picture in the Weekend Courier Mail too...my kids were SO embarrassed, but I think secretly they were quite happy, especially when other kids commented at school.
I woke up this morning, lolling around in bed all sweaty and uncomfortable, with an unreasonable hatred for Indonesia.
I know not all Indonesians are muthafucking selfish cb tree-burners, but there is no where else I can direct my anger at, so fuck that stupid country for its stupid lax laws and culture of bribery.
It's ridiculous that anybody, let alone a country, can be so self-centred and irresponsible, affecting the health, economy and aircon-usage of so many other people just for its own petty gains. Update me, have they signed the bloody anti-haze contract yet?
I saw on the newspaper yesterday that some Indonesian minister or something was apologizing to Malaysia and Singapore for the damn haze, and all I wanted to do was to slap him. Sorry?! Sorry doesn't do any shit! Stop apologizing like a fool and go do something about it, ok?
Indonesia should not be allowed to plant anything from now on.
I don't care if we have to pay more more for rice or whatever it is they plant for us, but I suppose if they don't have field farmers then they won't burn anymore, would they?
NO MORE FARMING. ALL FARMERS SHALL BE PROSECUTED FOR THE CRIMES OF THEIR BOSSES/FELLOW WORKERS.
Some Malaysian minister was also going on on the news that day that Malaysia also urges Indonesia to sign the anti-haze thingy because the haze in KL is so bad (300 PSI at some point. Not that the air there is anywhere near fresh in the first place, but 300!! I will die!!) that Malaysians are all now resentful towards Indonesians (exactly how I feel too), which he thinks is not a good thing.
When our family, all squeezed into one tiny room which is the only one with aircon, we all erupted into angry spurts when he finished his little speech.
"WAH LAU!" Didi exclaimed.
"YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH! Filthy POS!" I shouted, with the vengence of somebody bracing up for a fight with a guy inside the TV.
I was shocked to hear how angry I was, but Malaysia really shouldn't talk like they are innocent sufferers!!! It is known that they have tree-burning histories too, albeit less than Indonesia I suppose.
I hate to sound like a weak shu nu, but man, my eyes are really uncomfortable, and I sneezed around 30 times non-stop just walking from Cineleisure to Youth Park last night.
Breathing feels strangely like there is not enough oxygen, and I really really hated people around me who were still smoking and adding oil to the fire. (ha, punny)
Since I am trapped at home, unwilling to step into the haze and immediately have my eyes water, all I can do is to think of vicious things to do to tree burning countries.
Every Singaporean will all donate $1 each. We will change this amount of money into the currency whose coins will weigh the most, and drop the coins on the heads of unethical businessmen in Indo/Malaysia.That should kill them pretty bad.
Since they want money so much and are willing to do such unscrupulous actions to get it, we shall give it to them.
We will create a big funnel vaccumy thing, which will suck all the haze from wherever it comes from, and blow it back at their faces.
We would blow it at the respective useless govts.
We will build a giant glass dome over Sumatra, and they can breathe the nice clean air they abused Mother Nature of so kindly providing, turning it into poisonous toxic fumes.
Every country will thus stop buying any horticulture products from offending countries. Let's see what they burn the damn fields for now.
Ah, but all these are just beautiful dreams.
To Indonesians who did not burn trees but are suffering, I say, what are you staying in that country for? Please try to migrate.
Yesterday was out with Wong and SR and Peiying having a whooping nice dinner at Chicago's steakhouse (in cine).
The steaks there are so nice! $9.90 for a nice big sirloin, and 6 different sauces to choose from!
The wild mushroom sauce is the most absolutely fabulous.
We made Wong put on fake eyelashes!! Haha so funny!
Before and After! Can't really see the difference though.
Went to Holland V at brekos to eat with Kelvin, Tim and Alex.
Lovely macro function.
Alex's tee says "Warning: Lions bite." with a half eaten kiwi bird.
Me!
Think I am too blonde, considering visiting my Asian roots again by having black hair.
Since I cannot bloody suntan with the stupid haze I might as well be fair with black hair! What do you think?
Kelvin mostly isn't happy when I start snapping photos of him.
Saw this angmoh guy across the road with the cutest baby ever and I tested my camera's zoom by taking a photo of the BABY!!!!!!
Isn't it so cute and fat and huggable! It is extremely freaky, but I am officially announcing that at the end of year 2006, my maternal instincts have officially kicked in.
I am only 22 leh!
So often I watch Maury's (some American show with defiant sexually addicted teens) with a frown on my face, because all these chicks, like aged 13, say they want to have a baby, and that's why they keep fucking so many boys.
I didn't understand why anyone will want a baby when they are totally incapable of taking care of it and giving it a complete family.
NOW I KNOW WHY. Maternal instincts! It is damn scary and uncontrollable!
Nobody warned me it would happen, it just suddenly did, and I want a baby (Dammit, give me one NOW!) and I have this overwhelming urge to steal other people's babies, especially the blonde ones!
I LOVE BLONDE BABIES!
I am not irrational enough to actually try to conceive one right now, but I still do feel the urge to carry a baby in my arms.
DAMMIT!
I scared the bejeesus out of Mike when I told him I wanted him to marry me now and I want a baby.
I then informed him and I am sick and told him to ignore me whenever I show symptoms of maternal instincts.
It is damn scary. I think I hear my womb lamenting to me sometimes, late at night, that it has been useful since 1995 and have not been used once since. It wantssss to be used.
Off to Chijmes to meet Ann Ling. Blogger keeps cutting my photos in half, goodness knows why.
Kel and Ann
Isaac, shrouded in mystery.
Testing out the night shots! Seems quite ugly to me.
Clash of the yellow hair with the yellow lights.
With Ann's friends.
Am I the only girl in the world left who is tanned?!
Zouk! Vyasa and two Anns.
Me + Kel
Girls
With Shuyin, Wanyi, Midori
KISSES!
Who is this guy at the back?! He also seems to be doing kisses
And this video is fucking funny!!!
p/s: You think the haze affects dandruff? I have a sudden attack of it!
I think there is a distinct possibility that an alternative Universe exists. Funny thing though...I think it exists right here and now on our wonderful planet. We've just got to harness it en mass. First we have to look and actually see....not just look.
