Regina De Rozario: Notes, pictures, and other fragments

Thoughts after General Elections 2011: What is your track record?

2011-05-08T19:35:00.001+08:00

And so it’s done. With a simple act – drawing an ‘X’ in a box I’ve chosen, I’ve fulfilled my obligation as a voter.

So now what?

Friends and colleagues who have been following my Facebook updates know that I’ve no qualms about revealing the party I voted for, nor my disappointment that they lost. Admittedly, Mr Chiam See Tong and his team from the Singapore People’s Party had a long shot in Bishan-Toa Payoh. It was their first attempt at a GRC that appears on all counts to be clean, well-run, and with few surface issues. Apart from Mr Chiam, the other SPP members were not only new to their constituents in Bishan-Toa Payoh, they were by and large, unfamiliar to the general voting public and media.

Where have you been? What have you done? What is your track record?

These are all fair questions. As a voter, it is my responsibility to assess my candidates’ abilities by what they have actually done, not merely what they intend to do. I feel it is important to examine how they have gone about meeting their desired goals, and the steps they’ve taken when they fall short. For new candidates with less experience, I look to the manner in which they conduct themselves. Are they fair? Do their treat their constituents with respect? How do they respond to questions?

Above all, I vote not for the team with the money or qualifications or the most inspiring speech. No, I vote for the team I want to work with, not just a team that can do things for me.

Because this is how I feel about citizenship: It requires work. And this extends beyond the work we may do as civil servants. It extends beyond the years of obligatory military service. And it certainly extends beyond putting an ‘X’ in a box.

For instance, there is a need to understand how our housing, health, employment and education policies work, and not be passive recipients of services delivered or ‘privileges’ accorded to us. We need to ensure these policies work in a way that all citizens may live up to their potential. We cannot, in all our conscience, enjoy the fruits of our progress when we know that we have left others to struggle behind.

There is a need to raise our level of critical discourse; to learn how to put forward ideas, not just opinions. We need to formulate strategies to fix things, and share better ways of doing. To do that, we need access to information, and open our minds to a range of views. And to do that, we need to work towards putting an end to censorship, and move beyond the demands of “the conservative majority”. We need to allow our artists and writers and thinkers the room to express themselves, without fear and restraint.

There is a need to put in place and carry through policies that stop the harm we are inflicting on our environment. It is not ‘hip’ to save the Earth. It is crucial. We need to educate and affect action where needed – be it the plastic bags we give out freely, the animals we cull, or the sharks’ fin in our soup.

Above all, there’s a need to understand how our Government works. We have had the opportunity to examine this more in depth over these campaign months. Did we try to? What have we learned? We know that while there is a part of the system that is effective (eg: a clear mission and vision that moves us efficiently forward), there are others that are flawed (eg: GRCs).

I know my summary is simplistic, but as you can see even from its surface, this country needs a lot of work. It is impossible for any of us to attempt everything but every small move matters. I may be grieving for the blows that the Singapore People’s Party has taken but I am heartened by the volume of our voices, even though they may sometimes rise and clamour in disagreement. That is the messiness of democracy. That is its beauty.

Now that we know who are MPs are, it’s time to get on their backs about the promise they’ve made – to listen to us and answer our questions. Never mind if he or she does not come from the party that you voted for. Pick an area or project you believe in and start asking questions. If they do not act or respond, do not forget this come the next Polling Day. But in the meantime, seek others who share your vision. Pace yourself for you can expect to be in it for the long haul. We all have the potential to make things better, and we know that we do this not just for ourselves.

Where have you been? What have you done? What is your track record?

At the end of these next five years, what will our own answers be?

March on

2009-03-12T11:16:00.006+08:00

We're nearly a quarter way through the year, and I'm glad to say that I'm getting on. One school term has just ended, and another will begin in a week's time, with not much rest in between. Still, I like my current state of busy-ness, like the fact that I am doing what I love. In spite of my occasional implosion, I manage to get on by reminding myself that I've so far achieved most of what I've set out to do, and can at least look at where I've 'failed' or fallen short with determination, in its eye and recognise the reasons.

March on, march on. There is so much to do, only so much time to mull.

I'm glad to say that after nine months of trying to figure out what it is I'm trying to do, my MA research is getting better, in the sense that I can feel it moving forward in a more focused fashion. Summative presentations for this semester's Research Methods essay draft and Studio Practice work went well. By 'well', I mean my assessors seemed to understand what I was doing, did not hate what I made, did not appear to want a do-over. Results are due when the new term begins. In the meantime, I float in this strange space in between relief and anxiety.

Click here for my research in a nutshell, for the benefit of those of you who don't get to hear me talk about it every other day :)

I was asked by one of the department lecturers (not someone from the Degree programme though) if I would be 'first again', and said that 'They were looking closely at me.' I don't know which is the scarier thought - the expectation that had been set, or the idea of being observed, and closely at that. I don't recall my exact response to his question, but surely I must have made some kind of face, likely a cross between a shudder, an 'erm' and a 'what?' I admit, I don't hold nervousness in very well.

My programme lecturers have often asked me why I tend not to work in my studio. This is why. My assigned work space makes me nervous, somewhat fearful of failure. The lack of walls makes it difficult for me to hide away when the urge hits. I no longer have a window to stare out of, so I can only stare at the photographs and ideas I have pinned down. Stare, pin down, and recognise the reasons why I need to keep at this.

I need space. Somewhere with a view out of and into. Where I can collect and stack and ferret, surround myself with texts and the ideas of others. I currently carry my texts dujour around with me like a nomad so I can read them whenever I have time. My Foucault, my Deutsche, my Sinclair. Unfortunately not everything I like is available on Google Books. I need a space where I can find comfort putting together the fragments of my understanding, at my own pace.

SY knows my predicament. She and I have spoken about buying our place for about two years now, and we look forward to realising this in the next year or so, hopefully shortly after I graduate. Falling property prices are our thin silver lining in this recession. We have our fingers crossed that our plans and savings are kept somewhat in place.

As much as I feel overwhelmed by school and work and my financial situation sometimes, I love who I am, where I am, and whom I am with now. March on, march on.

"Success in not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts."
- Winston Churchill

Happy New Year

2009-01-17T21:46:00.005+08:00

Happy New Year!

You know you've been away too long from your blog when you can't quite remember when you last blogged or what you blogged about.

The New Year has been good so far; just extremely busy, with deadlines and other important day-to-day stuff to attend to lined up almost every other day till the end of Mar.

On the one hand I wish I had more time for a breather, to go shopping or a movie or dinner with friends, but it's been ages since I stepped into Orchard (I even skipped Christmas shopping), the last two dinners with friends were over the holidays in my own home, and most of my socializing is done on - dare I admit it - Facebook.

On the other hand, I enjoy the rush that comes with multi-tasking. Especially multi-tasking that pays.

A summary of sorts of what's been happening and will happen in the coming months...

Work, school, work, work

1. My first foray into college teaching ended in mid-November and I believe it went quite alright. Investigating Art was a curious module to teach - a combination of art theory, history and critique. My first-years were an interesting, mixed lot of teenagers and matured students. A friendly, quirky bunch. Judging from some of their comments to me and to the Fine Art Office, it appears that most seemed quite happy with the lessons. Though I had to deal with a hundred essays to mark (two essays per student, 50 students in all) for Final Assessment, I was pleased with the marked improvement the majority showed in their ability to analyse and critique artworks. At the end of the day, I hope I managed to spur them into considering mediums and forms of art they never thought they'd be interested in. Personally, I also wished we had more than the allotted two hours together each week for practice, gallery visits and discussion.

This semester I'll be teaching something quite different: Professional Practice, although the word 'teaching' should be taken broadly. Lectures on How to Be An Artist are a little odd, in my opinion, and I'm wondering how best to carry out the syllabus. I've been assigned the second and third-years which makes things a little easier as they've all been somewhat immersed in NAFA culture and familiar with each other, so I'd expect a lot more thought and little less shyness to articulate what it is they hope to achieve as artists.

2. Apart from teaching, I'm currently doing some research work, firstly to write a series of articles (on reservoirs!) for the National Library's Infopedia project, and secondly as an assistant to Hong Kong-based Singaporean artist Michael Lee, for a work he's developing for the Circle Line Art in Transit Project. Both projects demand a great deal of library time, plowing through historical data. I love research but hell's bells do I dread having to look stuff up on the microfiche reader. Browsing on that damn machine makes me seasick.

3. I was also recently engaged to do some copywriting for Timberland's Spring/Summer catalogue. It's been a while since I did any advertising work, but the client rep was good to work with and the pay was decent (It also helped that Jae was the art director behind the job).

4. I'm still struggling with my MA work, albeit a little less than I was in the beginning when I was wavering and could not focus on what aspect of public art I wanted to address. I'm grateful my tutors have been patient and supportive in spite of my inability to articulate my thesis. Frankly, I wasn't at all surprised when I got my near fail results back from my last assessment this week. Even as I handed in my first essay, I knew it was way off the mark and lacking in rigour. I was just a tad disappointed - and mostly because I had gone from First Class Honours grad to the one who still can't come up with a title for her dissertation. But like I said, they've been mostly supportive. Their response to my bad grade last semester: 'Well, it is an incredibly broad and difficult topic...' followed by pointed reminders not to take the easy way out. It's a bit like Gordon Ramsay commiserating 'Well, Coq Au Vin is terribly hard to make, but you picked it so you'd BETTER NOT FUCK IT UP.'

Grave dug, bed made, etc. It looks like the hard work is gonna get harder.

(Edit: On the upside, I finally have a title for my thesis: Beyond Memory and Materiality - Art in Singapore's Public Spaces. I'll elaborate in the weeks to come.

4. I'll be conducting a teachers' workshop on Discussing Art with Primary School Students at Pei Hwa Presbyterian next month.

5. I interviewed Singaporean artist Genevieve Chua about her new photographic series Raised as a Pack of Wolves. You can read the interview on the gay and lesbian magazine site Fridae.com, or on this blog.

6. Weight of an Empty Page will be published in an upcoming issue of Singapore Architect. Much thanks to Michael Lee for showing the piece to the editor.

7. My works-in-progress show will be held the first week of March at Sculpture Square. More details will be announced shortly.

Just so this entry is not entirely work and school-related, a few updates on other things:

8. Jeanette Winterson's January column is a heartfelt description of her relationship with her father. Admittedly, it made me tear a little.

9. Brett Anderson's Wilderness is a far, far cry from his sphere of work with Suede. It is achingly lovely and quiet and will probably not sell many copies, but it seems made for me and my yearning for dim, rainy, cat-on-the-lap afternoons.

10. Indigo Girls play the Mosaic Music Festival in March. How much am I'm looking forward to that? Muchly!

Wolf spirits: Genevieve Chua (Fridae interview)

2009-01-08T22:03:00.024+08:00

Specially commissioned for this year's M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, Raised as a Pack of Wolves continues Singaporean lesbian artist Genevieve Chua's explorations of queer visibility and sexuality.

Revolving around a family of youths – in the form of androgynous or masculine-presenting females – who come together in the wild, this inventive photographic series by Genevieve Chua presents a new, fantastical spin on the awkwardness of adolescence and the hunt for familial ties, and answers.

Referring to them as 'wolves', the 24-year-old Lasalle College of the Arts graduate says she started documenting her subjects, whom she had met on the streets, through blogs or friends, over a period of two years.

Raised as a Pack of Wolves forms the third chapter of a longer narrative which explores the discovery of one’s sexuality and the journey towards calling oneself gay or lesbian, and the security a 'pack' provides each member.

Fridae speaks to the woman behind the lens.

How did you arrive at the idea for this series?

GC: I've always wanted to do something related to youths, specifically adolescent females. It's a subject that is seldom discussed or too complicated to approach. To most people, adolescence is just an awkward stage between being young and being an adult, but the word's origins refer to the growth toward maturity. That transition is something everyone can relate to, in a multitude of ways.

Why androgynous females?

GC: The wolves in my story were simply imagined with the physical characteristics of androgynous females, but the real gender of these 'wolves' is not apparent. In the story the 'wolf spirits' possess the bodies of these young bodies so as to evade notice.

It appears that the story you're trying to tell is more fantasy than documentary, as if you were you trying to create some kind of myth.

GC: It's true. I started documenting these groups of 'wolves' from two years ago. My photographs and reflections were substantial enough for anyone to grasp, but I was looking for an after taste, something more.

I began writing a story based on my observations, and Raised as a Pack of Wolves is actually the third chapter of a longer narrative. What you see here is the beginning of a series of events. It's an exploration of how they survive, live, and play. Presently, I am one-third into the next chapter, where new 'wolves' and other characters will begin to appear as the story evolves.

Where did you find your subjects, and were you looking for any particular qualities, aside from androgyny?

GC: I found the first few subjects online, through blogs, and then through their friends, and their friends' friends. While I am particular about casting, there was no 'queer criterion'. I picked those who were more inward, and more at ease with themselves. They tend to be more conscious of where they are, but they don't try to stand out or fit in. You know a wolf when you see one.

How did you direct the photo shoots?

GC: I drew a storyboard with stickmen and smiley faces and showed it to them for them to replicate the scenes. That was my method of direction.

I'm not that much older than my subjects. I'm 24 and the youngest was 16. As much as I tried to recall what it was like when I was their age, I found gaps in my memory. It was interesting to build a sort of collective memory, from their stories and my own reflections.

Storytelling aside, this series undoubtedly draws attention to a very visible subset of queer women.

GC: One of the reasons why I started this project was because I wanted my work to offer some kind of affirmation to these youths. Some people are quick to associate my work with queer women's politics, but I think it's really about being young and queer – about discovering one's sexuality, how daunting it is to call oneself gay or lesbian, and the uncertainty of it all. In spite of this, there’s that ease these girls have when they’re with 'their own'.

That idea of a 'pack', or 'tribe', or 'community' certainly fits with the theme of this year's Fringe Fest, 'Art and Family'. They are variations of the same. So what does 'family' mean to you?

GC: In the process of looking for these wolves, I've learnt that a family of friends can change over time. Sometimes this shift is required in order to for one to grow up or grow out of old ways. Only blood family can never be changed.

What’s next for you?

GC: I will reveal my next chapter in 2010, but in the meantime, viewers who are interested in seeing large format prints of Raised as a Pack of Wolves will be able to do so at ‘'CUT: New Photography from Southeast Asia', which will tour Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Manila. Details will be up on raisedasapackofwolves.com/diary.

Raised as a Pack of Wolves is on show permanently at raisedasapackofwolves.com.

This interview first appeared on Fridae.com on 8 Jan, 2009.

Happy holidays

2008-12-22T11:38:00.006+08:00

There's usually a point in the year, often somewhere in between August and October, when the days are hot and irritable and the year feels tiresome and endless, that I find myself making some kind of resolution to skip Christmas.

It begins as a passing thought, a seed floating in the wind that's blowing through my head. It settles and takes root. It grows, watered by apathy and cynicism, and fertilized by misanthropy-tinted observations. Parties seem to gather people who don't want to be alone, talk each others ears off about the same old, exchange items that aren't particularly needed or wanted. Churches are full of faces who never show up at any other time of the year, dressed to the nines for the party after. Fa la la la la la la la la...

By November, this endeavour to avoid Christmas becomes so fully formed, so tenacious to the point that the mere mention of the event would elicit scoffs and eye rolls, if not dagger stares.

Then, when December finally arrives, as strangely as the cynicism began, it falls apart.

What gives?

Usually it's the realisation that so much of what I dislike about the season has to do, not with the event itself, but the artifice that comes attached to it. The money spent on presents, dressing up, food and drink - all these gestures of goodwill, how much of it translates into actual acts the rest of the year?

Far be it for me to dictate how someone else should choose to make their Christmas merry and bright. If it's done with good intentions, then that's good. I can only speak for myself, and all this is perhaps just to explain things to myself, this frustration that comes round every December.

It is usually at Christmas that I face up to my own personal shortcomings, my inability (or is it refusal?) to carry out more than gestures, my tendency to 'just enough, just for show'. Call it my own epiphany for the season.

Christmas, for me, becomes a holding period - Introspective, reflective, difficult.

You know how it is when you're on a retreat, in a place that's quiet and it seems perfect for forgetting, except that every thought suddenly seems magnified instead. You can't run away from it. It's there. This is what happens to me at Christmas. I could be wrapping a present for a friend and then the inner dialogue begins:

'Why are you giving her that? You hardly talked to her all year.'
'But it's the thought that counts.'
'Yes, but actually spending time with her would count so much more.'

It's not self-blame or guilt, just this nagging voice at the back of my mind that says 'Try harder. Make things better'. The realisation that I had perhaps not done my best during the year, or been as kind as I ought have been, is frustrating and difficult to accept. Yet there it is to think about.

But everything's not lost. There is a sense of grace that imbues the season. What is Christmas if not the event where God sends His Son to give us all another chance - an ultimate act of grace? Whether one is Christian or not, it does not matter as grace certainly is not an attribute of Christians alone. In spite of what I may feel about the season, and all that it comes with, it's hard to deny the opportunity to give myself another chance: to extend a little grace to others, to translate the money I spend into a moment, a meaningful conversation. To just try harder. To do better.

The end of all things

2008-11-19T19:53:00.001+08:00

(An old poem in lieu of a post, for now)

The end of all things

No one moves
in this storm

It stills traffic,
reduces the motorway

to a humming sea
draped in red

and gold
discs.

From the caress
of my car

I feel like Noah
at the end of all things.

Watching umbrellas
nodding in twos,

nudged grey
by the rain.

In the corner
a shelterless man

Staggers
as if from a war

With arms
full of cardboard

bent
in the water fall

The soundtrack
to this silent film

Is a radio voice
reporting

two collisions
not far from here.

Metronome wipers
unveil

the various heights
we all fall from.

ten/twentyfour project 2008

2008-10-23T15:59:00.004+08:00

The ten/twentyfour project was started by me back in 2002 as an attempt to capture a single moment – October 24, 10:24 GMT – as it passed through different locations over the globe.

What was intended as a one-time experiment has since grown into an annual event, with each year bringing a mix of regular and new participants from almost every continent.

To date, the project has seen participants shooting in various cities and towns in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Due to many requests from participants, the project was opened to non-lomographers in 2003. Since then, the event has been open to all camera-users. The spirit of lomography – to ‘shoot from the hip’, however, still drives this project, and this is clearly seen in the wonderful images that come our way every year.

ten/twentyfour is essentially more than a document of one moment in our lives. It’s about taking a closer look at our immediate surroundings and perhaps finding things we’ve never noticed or imagined before.

2008 marks the seventh year of our project. As we welcome new participants to this year’s event, we extend our appreciation to all our past contributors. ten/twentyfour would not have been possible without you generously sharing your vision, so that the rest of us may, for one brief moment, sneak a peek into your corner of the world.

For more details on the project and how to particpate, please visit our official website.

When Venice calls, you say 'yes'

2008-09-26T01:13:00.005+08:00

Somebody told somebody who got somebody to see our film Absence at Digital Homelands and then somebody got on the phone to ask me if we'd be okay with it if they showed it at the Venice Architectural Biennale this weekend.

Would we be okay with it? Hello, is the Pope Catholic?

I'm hazy on the details (as you can see) but from my very brief meeting with the curator, Zhang Wenjie, and some Googling, I learned that the event is

a) organised by DesignSingapore
b) will be held at the Singapore Pavillion in Venice
c) like the Venice Film Festival, part of the massive 'La Biennale di Venezia'

Absence will be one of six films that will be showcased this weekend.

Additionally, I learned that Wenjie's the new festival director of the Singapore Film Festival, and was previously behind the Moving Images programme at the Substation, and most recently the Cinematheque programme at the National Museum. He's also a very nice guy, and a friend of my former writing tutor Ben Slater. Small, small world.

He told me he was quite taken with Absence and was keen to see more. Naturally, I was chuffed. Compliments aside, it's always great to hear people sound off about your work, and say they like seeing what you like doing.

I told Jae the great news and we both agreed that despite the rejections and let downs and the urge to second-guess ourselves from time to time, we just need to make work and MAKE IT WORK.

And when Venice calls, we'll say 'Hell, yeah!'

Central Park fall colours

2008-09-21T22:21:00.007+08:00

I decided to take some time this weekend to sort and organise my old photos. These were taken some four years ago, on my first trip to Manhattan. What I loved most about walking through Central Park, besides the lovely fall colours, was the light...through the trees, on the grass, in our hair. The weather was perfect - chilly enough that we could swish about in trench coats and boots, and toasty warm when the sun decided to linger a little longer outside the clouds.

Temporary Eyesore

2008-09-18T02:23:00.004+08:00

Why apologise when you can call it as it is?

This hoarding can be found near the Tate Modern in London.

From an article on the installation and site:

"On a recent visit to Munich, (artist Scott) King was struck by how many civic buildings were hidden behind digital images printed on to vinyl sheeting. The images depicted the façade of the buildings behind them in 1:1 scale: thus creating a kind of ‘simile’ of the city.

His proposal for this installation creates the opposite to that. Here, the hoarding celebrates its own ‘ugliness’, the opposite to the civic buildings of Munich."

Now, I don't quite take to the artist's statement. "Celebrates its own ugliness"? Oh come on, it's a piss take and a good one.

Why not just call it what it is?

September seeps in

2008-09-08T11:28:00.005+08:00

Tonight there must be people who are getting what they want.
I let my oars fall into the water.
Good for them. Good for them, getting what they want.

The night is so still that I forget to breathe.
The dark air is getting colder. Birds are leaving.

from Jennifer Michael Hecht's 'September'

There are two months in every year that I feel the need, more than in any other month, to sit still, eyes closed, with a blanket up to my chin and my arms around my knees. I find myself staring out of windows more often and, depending on the weather, examining the slants of light, the strands of rain.

I find myself in this place in March and now in September. I cannot recall exactly when I began my habit or from where if it was something I had learned. All I can say is that these months mark a beginning and an end for me, though not the beginning, or the end - More like a transitory period, a mood, phase, that if compressed, can be likened to the feeling of being on a plane that's about to take off or land.

Conventional wisdom dictates that we mark the beginning and end of every numbered year with January and December. If we live by nature's seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, the cycle begins with Spring which occurs around April. Being in Singapore, there is little variation beyond the 'sun in June to Aug', 'rain in Nov to Jan', and even that pattern has been thrown askew in the last few years. For me, March and September lie somewhere in the gaps of these patterns. They are the months of anticipation, of making plans, of watching the ground inch closer towards me.

So what is it, the weather, the stars, the sense of my own aging skin?

...

On a less melancholic note, I've been occupied with my MA research work, gallery visits, and meet-ups. We're having a short tutorial break, which means no campus sessions and teaching this fortnight.

Last month's ROJAK was quite an experience. A good mix of design, film, and art projects were showcased, some very intriguing (Laurence Abrahamson's 'Out-Lines' stood out for me), while others seemed like they needed either more work, or a more concise presentation.

There was a good crowd, and the Guinness Theatre proved to be the most conducive location I've had yet for a screening of 'Terminus'. I have no recollection of what I rambled on about (I spoke without a script and was nervous), but after speaking to a few people at the end of the event, I had a feeling that they enjoyed the work and would be looking out for more stuff from us.

The best part of the event for me was making a new friend, Chris Chua, who's currently finishing his degree in performance-based design at Central St Martin's. In our chat then, and a few days later over coffee, we discovered our shared interest in site-specific work and cross-disciplinary collaborations. I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with him.

...

The Singapore Biennale opens Sep 9. Either their website is sorely lacking in vital information (what time, where, and how can I get to the official opening), or it's there somewhere and I am too inept to dig it up. The exhibition opens in less than a week, but all I see here are loads of information on the history and descriptions of the various venues. Likewise, a table listing the participating artists, but no pictures of works we can expect.

Strange, that. An art biennale website with no images of art.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen any print brochures available to the public. Do they not want us to go see this event?

Terminus at The Substation

2008-08-30T00:31:00.004+08:00

Terminus makes its 'big screen, surround sound' debut at The Substation's Guinness Theatre this Sunday. Thanks to Willie Koh, of Farm.sg who invited Perception3 to be a part of this event, which coincidentally, is happening during The Substation's annual Sept Fest opening weekend.

Do come, if not to see our little video, then to check out the other new and emerging artists who will be presenting that day.

Details:

Date and time: Sunday, 31 Aug, 3pm
Location: The Substation, 45 Armenian Street

The invite poster we designed:

The result of a hot, dusty afternoon spent at the Maxwell Food Centre. The tissue paper pack in the centre, with the 'ROJAK' label, does not really exist. We shot a clear pack, and then had the words digitally affixed. Jae has some mad Photoshoppin' skillz, I tell ya...

I would like to thank the Academy...

2008-08-17T00:16:00.005+08:00

It's midnight and I'm exhausted, but I still have deadlines to meet. Anyway, a quick update before I get on with that.

The last two days have been long, but rather exciting. The NAFA Fine Art Awards Exhibition opened last night with its awards ceremony. I'm very happy to announce that Terminus won the top prize - the Fire Award, which came with a certificate and a nice sum of money, which will probably go towards some equipment and school fees.

Honestly, I was genuinely surprised having seen the rest of the works that were on show. I was quite taken with some of the sculptures, and other video works. Congrats are due too to my former classmate Lim Zi Sin who also won a prize for her Percer series. Watch out for her, she's really good.

Anyway, much thanks to all the people who came to congratulate me and spoke to me about the video. I'm still reeling from it all, and am starting to feel a little anxious actually, wondering if there's more from where that came from, and hoping there is. In the words of tutor Susie, "How will you top this, Regina?"

As if that wasn't enough excitement for the week, today I attended my convocation ceremony, accompanied by Jae and Oi Ee. It was great to see the old classmates again. Received my degree certificate, as well as a medal for Best Graduate. I was a bit overwhelmed. It felt strange standing on stage, facing the audience, and listening to the emcee as he read the citation that was written for me (by my Head of Department, I think). Later at the reception, the very lovely Professor Sue Frost from Huddersfield came over to congratulate me on my First and the award. Needless to say, I was chuffed.

In spite of, or maybe because of, all this excitement, I feel this need to lie down with a cold compress. Things have been going swimmingly well, so much so it's quite hard to believe. Anyway, cheers to everyone who helped me get to this point. I am truly grateful.

Now...back to work :)

Overwhelming August

2008-08-14T01:16:00.004+08:00

These last couple of weeks have not been good. Granted my work has been getting a lot of views and compliments, but I've only come to realise the size of the headache...nay, migraine, that comes with getting a work seen.

The thing with video installation is that it's not as simple as hanging a painting or drawing or photograph. You cannot stick it in a frame and leave it to your gallery folks to hang. There are equipment considerations, which means you would have to keep checking with the site and curators on what's available or can be provided, and making sure that what they have will fit the vision of your work.

This is my take on exhibiting: It is not enough to 'make do' with what is available if it does not fit. Time and money spent on making an artwork demands that more time and money be spent on ensuring that the artwork is seen the way it's supposed to.

My frustrations over the last few weeks stem from not having the right equipment, and more so budget to ensure the ideal setting for these works. It feels, in some part, like building a plane for months, and then not having total control of flying it.

Alas, the artist's perennial lament: Budget

...

Aside from the various prep work for the various exhibitions, I've been busy with my teaching work. The actual teaching is fine - the groups are beginning to perk up and participate more in class, which is a good sign. The prep for lessons takes a lot longer than I expected. Because there's no precursor for the course, I have no manual to refer to which leads to lots of mulling on how I could make the lessons less 'lecturey' and more interactive. So far, the groups have had very little good things to say about their history classes, which makes me curious to the point of wanting to join them there one day.

I've also been asked to be contributing editor to a new web and print publication on young contemporary artists in Singapore. It's shaping up quite well, but lots of proofreading and re-writing to get done.

What of my own MA work? Honestly, I'm a bit stuck there and am trying to fit in time to do my readings and literature review. I haven't found the angle that I want to work on (public art being a very broad topic) and this is quite frustrating. I wish my ideas would come to me in my sleep, but the trouble is, I haven't been sleeping very much, so no help from dreams or the subconscious.

...

Not to end on a stressed out, negative note: So, how about that Olympic Opening Ceremony? Honestly, I thought it was fab, and some parts of the ceremony, like the tai qi demonstration and dancers painting and they moved over the large scroll, took my breath away. Zhang Yimou's overall art direction really imbued me with a deep sense of awe. Such grace, and power.I was overwhelmed, but this time in a good way.

Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You

2008-08-12T01:15:00.004+08:00

I've been meaning to post this for a while now. A friend pointed me to the website and I thought it was a nice bit of lo-fi fun.

Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You

Back to school...once again

2008-08-05T23:34:00.004+08:00

It's now three weeks into the new school semester and I am still not used to the early mornings and long days. Goodbye to "lazy summer", days of sleeping in, vegging out in front of the telly, and softening on the Internet (I've finally brought myself to uninstalling all those insidiously addictive game applications from my Facebook account).

My break since the Graduation Show has not been totally unproductive. Though I didn't blog about it, I did spend a great amount of time running around, and meeting people, for fun as well as for school and work.

A quick re-cap of what's still in my memory bank:

The meetings with the HR people from NHB and NAFA for my scholarship and teaching interviews were stressful. I didn't get the scholarship, but I got the job, so at least there's a little bit of money that's coming my way.

Was I disappointed at not getting the scholarship? Honestly, yes, but on some level, I knew I had not wowed them at all at the interview, so I wasn't surprised. Thinking about it now, I was more upset at how long they took to tell me (2 months, though they said they would tell me the following week). Jae told me to keep the two-line rejection letter. Something to spur me on, I suppose.

Thankfully, the teaching thing is turning out to be quite interesting. It's quite a challenge, especially since I've been away from a classroom-type instructional setting for a while.

YP, who designed the course outline, has left the content pretty much up to me. While this does give me a lot of freedom to adjust the content to the classes' level of understanding, on the other hand, it would help me a lot to have a little more structure and guidance on how to assess this level of understanding. I'm the kind of teacher that prefers to give her students individual attention, suss out what their strengths and interests are and see how thay can take it further. It's just a little bit harder with a group of 25.

The two groups are rather different, though both have a good mix of interesting characters. The later class seems quieter, though I wonder if it's because of the group mix, or the scheduling of the session (4 to 6pm, Friday. Plus, it's their only class of the day. If I was a student in that session, I'd have a higher expectation to learn something worth my while). In any case, I'm hopeful that this semester works out for all of us, and that they don't end up too overwhelmed or underwhelmed by what I bring to the sessions.

As for my own studies, it's progressing, albeit slowly. Susie Lingham and Ho Hui May will be my advisors for my thesis and practice respectively. So far, I've had discussions about the title and focus of my project, which will look at the practice of activating public spaces in Singapore. In the process of my work, I hope to develop some material (a book perhaps) documenting public art in Singapore, and the different ways in which spaces have been used to engage the public in art. I'll also be developing some large-scale public works of my own, the prospect of which is scary as it is exciting.

It's all a bit of a muddle in my head at the moment, but I hope to take the next month or so to sort it out.

As I've mentioned in my previous post, Terminus is currently making its rounds, thanks to all the nice people who thought of the work and wanted to include it in their various showcases. I'll be speaking at the ROJAK screening and presenting the video, as well as some other photography work done as Perception3. Do come by and say hello to me and Jae. We'd love to have a chat.

The Terminus Tour

2008-08-05T22:50:00.004+08:00

Terminus will be 'on tour' at various locations this month.

Copyright © Perception3 2008

Exhibition schedule:

1 to 2 Aug (just ended)
NAFA Symposium: New Asian Imaginations
Lee Foundation Theatre / Campus 3
151 Bencoolen Street

16 to 20 Aug
NAFA Fine Art Awards Exhibition
NAFA Gallery 2
80 Bencoolen Street
11am to 7pm

20 Aug to 20 Oct
"Time"
Tickleart Art Space
Citylink Mall (towards the Esplanade)
Mall hours

31 Aug
"ROJAK 12: In conjunction with Septfest"
The Substation
45 Armenian Street
8pm to 10pm

A slight revamp

2008-08-05T11:54:00.003+08:00

Hi all, and welcome to the new blog. Just a slight revamp... a new address and look, and hopefully much more content in terms of news and reviews on art, photography, and film. I'm currently in the process of moving some old entries over and recovering lost image links, so bear with me as I patch up the gaps in those entries.

The Wrkshy account won't be deleted just yet. I find it extremely hard to let go of that name, that 'side' of me, so I'm holding on to it for the time being. I have some tentative plans for that site, just not enough time to see them through for now.

Absence, now screening at National Museum

2008-07-13T11:09:00.001+08:00

Perception3 is proud to have its first film, 空 / Absence, selected for exhibition as part of the Digital Homelands showcase presented by the National Museum of Singapore.

空 / Absence, a short film by Regina De Rozario and Seah Sze Yunn, will be part of a four-screen video installation that will feature over 20 works by other homegrown filmmakers that capture a myriad of experiences and memories of Singapore places.

空 / Absence
Written & directed by Regina De Rozario & Seah Sze Yunn
Duration: 7 mins 34 secs

*The film is the first of five films that will play on Screen 4 of the installation.

Synopsis: A housing block sits quietly on Banda Street in Chinatown, remarkably untouched by the redevelopment projects at its doorstep. A silent visitor arrives to explore its corridors and walkways - to observe, to compare, and to document the spaces she wandered through as a child. In her attempt to make a record, and recall what is already absent, she anticipates the loss that is to come.

Date: 11 July to 30 Sep 2008
Time: 10am to 8pm daily
Location: National Museum of Singapore, Salon Foyer (Level 1), 93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897.

National Museum website - www.nationalmuseum.sg
Digital Homelands website - www.digitalhomelands.sg
Perception3 website - www.perceptionthree.net

Asian Dragons Rising

2008-06-23T11:12:00.000+08:00

I'll be appearing in a programme called Asian Dragons Rising on Channel NewsAsia this Thursday, 26 June at 9.30pm Singapore time.

Just to clarify, I'm not one of the Asian Dragons, NAFA is. This was one of two interviews I gave around my graduation show.

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

2008-06-18T11:31:00.000+08:00

I want to watch this!

From afterellen.com (where I got the news):

"...Dream of Life is narrated by Patti herself, and it was filmed over 12 years of her writing, touring, and living in New York. Hopefully we can expect some stories of her high-profile friendships with people such as Allen Ginsberg and Michael Stipe, her years as a rock journalist, and the recording of her debut album, Horses that has continued to influence musicians and other artists alike."

My first brush with Patti Smith was with her Dream of Life album when I was in college, and I still rock out to it every once in a while, especially when I'm in need for a raw jolt.

Video promo of 'People Have the Power' (dodgy video, but great song) :

Clip of her retrospective exhibition 'Land 250' set-up at the Fondation Cartier in Paris:

Clip of her reading Virginia Woolf at the Fondation earlier this year:

The suspense is killing me

2008-06-16T11:13:00.000+08:00

There really is nothing worse than waiting. Waiting for someone. Waiting for a thing to come. To happen. To happen to you. Waiting and somehow knowing that it won't happen. Hoping that it will. Not sure if you want it to or not.

The interview at NHB last Monday went alright, though I think I'd place my confidence level at 60%. I think I gave off a casual vibe - like, "it's okay if you don't give me the money, I'm going to do my MA and have a happy life with or without you." Plus, those other candidates in the hall had some pretty killer suits on. So no contest really. That said, they were warm and told me they'd let me know if I was picked for the next round of interviews.

On the other hand I think this is just me lowering my expectations so that I won't be too disappointed when I do, or don't, get the news.

I'm also waiting on NAFA for more news about the teaching gig. It's more or less confirmed (my name's on the timetable), but I've not met up with Boo for the formal interview and discussion about the course details. Last I checked he's on leave till next week, so maybe then. I've already begun some reading and lesson planning. Again, I'm quite thankful for my NLB training. That Instructional Design course that I took when I was a trainer at NLB Academy will be my lifesaver, I bet.

...

Some nice things happened over the week:

Dinner with several of my friends and family. These catch-up sessions are great but I've been eating far too richly these last few outings and I'm starting to feel the weight of it now.

Watched loads of movies. Been getting DVDs from friends, plus my Sex and the City series arrived early in the mail. Even though I've seen the seasons plenty times over, I finally decided to shell out for my own copies. My main motive was to loan them to my flatmate to cheer her up a bit. She sat through Season 1 in one sitting last Saturday, so I think she's on her way.

...

There are several exhibitions in the annual Month of Photography fest that I want to catch - This year's theme is Still/Moving: Photography and Cinema, which looks at how the two disciplines cross and co-relate.

The Magic of Cinema
A Magnum Photos Exhibition
14 June - 20 July, Cathay Gallery

Alain Fleischer/Time Exposures
21 June - 3 Aug, Singapore Art Museum

Out of Focus: Emerging talent in photography
26 June - 9 July Night & Day Gallery

Starbound: Portraits & Film Sets Photos
3 July - 26 July, SG Private Banking Gallery

RSI's 'On Campus' interview

2008-05-26T11:14:00.000+08:00

In addition to the Channel NewsAsia programme, I've been asked to do an interview with Radio Singapore International's 'On Campus', a segment that looks at educational opportunities in Singapore. RSI broadcasts on shortwave, and you can catch the service via Mediacorp's NewsRadio 93.8 FM, and the internet stream. More details at this link.

My interview will be on tomorrow night (27 May) at 8.55pm on 93.8 FM. And thereafter on shortwave on the weekends.

On top of talking about NAFA, I'll be yakking (if they let me) a bit about the graduation show and the work I'll be showing.

What else?

Yes, I'm nervous.

Out of Our Imagination - NAFA Fine Art Grad Show

2008-05-23T11:14:00.000+08:00

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts cordially invites you to
LEAP! Graduation Show 2008

featuring
‘Out of Our Imagination’
Department of Fine Art Diploma and Degree Show

‘Out of Our Imagination’ will feature some 50 thought-provoking and experiential works presented by 33 emerging talents, expressed in a variety of media ranging from print making, ceramics, Chinese ink and Western painting, drawing, installation, video art, and contemporary writing. Reflections on questions of identity, memory, the psychological relations between people, objects and places, and poetic investigations of our city landscape are just some of the themes explored creatively.

Event Details

Date & Time:
Wednesday, 28 May 2008, 6.30pm (Opening reception by invitation only)
Exhibition continues till Saturday, 31 May 2008, 10am to 7pm

Venues:
Degree Show
Gallery 3 (Ground level)
NAFA Campus 1, Wing A

Diploma Show
Skylight Studios (Level 6)
NAFA Campus 1, Wing B

Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, 80 Bencoolen Street, Singapore 189655

Admission:
Free

RSVP:
Ms Josephine Chua
jchua[at]nafa.edu.sg

‘Out of Our Imagination’ is presented in conjunction with LEAP! Graduation Show 2008,
which showcases the works of graduating students from the departments of Fine Art and Design & Media

Feeling the Blanks - amended opening hours

2008-03-05T11:16:00.000+08:00

Urgent announcement:

The opening hours for the Feeling the Blanks exhibition are 10am to 6pm, and NOT 11am to 7pm as I posted earlier. Apologies for the error on my part.

I'll be present at the show on Saturday, 8 Mar, from 10am to 2pm.

The show will run till next Monday, 10 Mar, 6pm.

Feeling the Blanks, and other updates

2008-02-28T11:16:00.000+08:00

Lately I find myself wishing I had a personal assistant who could help me keep all my schedules and paperwork in check. I feel like I'm losing track of so much these days, not being to remember what I'm supposed to do when, even though I'm jotting it down in my notebook and on my mobile. I forget whole conversations in a matter of hours. I feel so scattered it's not even funny. Like Alzheimer's is kicking in or something.

Do I need to get it checked? Am I just paranoid and stressed out? Do I need gingko biloba, or just a holiday?

Anyway, some stuff to update (while I can remember) -

As you've probably seen in my comments for The Weight of An Empty Page, Ivan says he is keen on composing a piece of music, inspired by the text I had written. I am chuffed that something I wrote has moved someone else to create something.

I mean, really, this is what art means to me. Not just a means of prettifying the world, or a means of self-expression, but to touch or affect people in some way, to get them talking about what I've created, or the things that drive me to create it. It's an ongoing conversation. To be able to start a conversation or a collaboration, or to be a part of one, is just about one of the most wonderful things I can think of.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to hearing Ivan's piece when he's done.

...

Speaking of the text, that brings me to the show it was written for. 'Feeling the Blanks' opens next Tuesday. I'll be showing photographs and some other text works. Here are the details:

Feeling the Blanks
A show of works-in-progress by the Department of Fine Arts degree students
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
80 Bencoolen Street
Campus 1, 6th Level
Skylight Studios

Opening reception Tuesday, 4 March 2008, 6.30pm
(Light refreshments and wine will be served)
Exhibition continues 5 to 10 March 2008, 11am to 7pm

Email me if you'd like to drop by for the reception, or if you'd like to meet me on the other show days.

Are We There Yet? and ten/twentyfour

2008-01-24T11:17:00.000+08:00

Two great things were launched this week -

Are We There Yet? My class' travelogue show opened at La Libreria last night. It was a small gathering of family, friends, NAFA staff and students. In my excitement I forgot to take photos of the event, but I did get to talk to some nice people. Met an American artist, Rita Herbert, who said she enjoyed the texts I had written. I was chuffed. Always great to hear others' take on your work.

I'll see if I can get some pics from my classmates, or when I visit the space again this weekend.

The show runs till till Sunday, 7pm, so do drop by.

Plug: La Libreria is a cosy loft shop started by a Japanese book artist. She sells 'artist books' - limited edition monographs, and books handmade by artists.

As an aside: Herbert told me she doesn't have her bio or portfoilo online, but me being the adamant searcher, did manage to find this little untitled gem:

From the Viva Lewes webmag (She's on page 20)

Herbert told me she works with Polaroid transfers. Nice!

...

ten/twentyfour was launched yesterday. We managed to do it a day before our target date of January 24. Got some nice comments on it via email and on the lomography website. It's a much better body of work compared to the previous years'. My thanks are due to all the participants, and Jae, who did a great job putting it all together. Because of my school work and what not, I only contributed text, some input on the curatorial direction, and these pictures I had taken in Paris:

Both were shot at the Arc de Triomphe.

Upcoming showcases

2008-01-19T11:18:00.000+08:00

Stayed up till 4am to work on the final texts for the ten/twentyfour project. Yes, we haven't forgotten about that. In fact, Jae has pretty much taken the lead with the curating, organizing, and art directing this time around. I only provided the texts and nodded and nixed decisions where needed. She's done a fab job and we can look forward to a reveal sometime before the end of January. Can't wait.

...

In addition to my regular schoolwork, I've been involved in several student show committees. The first show coming up is 'Are We There Yet?', which is a small exhibition of new works inspired my class' recent trip to the UK and Paris. The show will open at the very cosy art bookshop La Libreria this Wednesday.

If you're keen, please consider this an invite and drop by on Wednesday around 6 or 7pm for an informal opening. Details as follows:

ARE WE THERE YET?
An exhibition on the transformative nature of travel and discovery

"In October 2007, a group of artists from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and University of Huddersfield Fine Art Degree Programme embarked on a three-week journey to Huddersfield, London, and Paris.

Inspired by their excursion, the group began experimenting with text, photo transfers, drawings, and installation to create a visual record of their respective experiences and explorations as artist-travellers.

The show will feature new works by Chang Hao Ran, Farah d., Regina De Rozario, Lim Zi Sin, Clare Tan, and Julia Teng."

You are cordially invited to the opening of the show on 23 January 2008,
6 to 8pm at

La Libreria
64A Queen Street, Bugis Village
Singapore 188543

Click for Location Map

The exhibition will run until 27 January 2008
Opening times are 11am to 7pm. Admission is free.

The Bechers

2007-10-02T11:34:00.000+08:00

My heroes:

"...But the best part was asking Bernd Becher at the end of this long afternoon how it felt, on top of everything else, to go down in art history as the most influential teacher since Baroque days. There is an embarrassed silence at the kitchen table in Dusseldorf. Andreas Gursky, Thomas Ruff, Candida Höfer or Thomas Struth – almost all of them German photographers, critics' darlings and auction recordbreakers – Becher taught them all at the Dusseldorf Art Academy between travels.

But their ultimate success shines on forever in connection with a name: "Becher students". A trademark term which gets curator and collector hearts beating faster – even if the "students" are well into their fifties, are professors themselves and exhibit in the MoMA. But doesn't he have one sentence at least to explain the collective success of his proteges – just a little one for the road?

Bernd Becher makes a small dismissive hand gesture, as if it was all so simple. "There was all sorts of talent there", he says. "The rest was coincidence. All we did was to turn back the time to a photography of precision which is superior to the human eye. Other art schools used to put the fear of God into their students by asking them 'Can you make a living out of that?' We wanted just the opposite and simply told them to make stuff first and then we'd go on from there. They could see how we'd made our way. Showing by doing, maybe that was it. What d'you say, Hilla?"

"Yes perhaps it really is that simple. When someone discovers something in their lives that really interests them, then they should be content with doing that – without having to go and lie on a beach once a year."

From 'High precision industrial age souvenirs', published on signandsight.com

Winding towers © Bernd and Hilla Becher

The more research I do, relating to the kind of photographs I've been taking, and trying to make, the more I'm convinced I'm a Becher student at heart.

Work, school and other misc updates

2007-09-30T11:35:00.000+08:00

You know your schedule's packed when the only time you have to update your blog is at 4am. :)

School -

Got a letter three weeks ago informing me that I'd received the Tan Chin Tuan Merit Award for Creative Education. Would not have happened if not for my head of department (Hong Sek Chern) and lead tutor (Boo Sze Yang), both of whom have been really great at supporting my work at NAFA.

I recently ended a week-long study break. Technically, it wasn't supposed to be a school holiday, as we were given assignments and readings to complete. Still for me, it was a nice hiatus from my tutors and classmates. I enjoy working with them, but I think after three months of constant contact and communication, it was good to get away, breathe, and process my thoughts without the pressure of having to present them. In my opinion, it's healthy to do this every few months or so, with any kind of work or personal relationship or environment you're in.

There'll be a change of tutors for my studio work. Tang Ling Nah, who's been sharing with me insights and resources from her own practice concerning urban architecture and spaces, will be making her way to two consecutive artist residencies in Taiwan and Vermont these next six months. In her place, I'll be working with Susie Lingham, an interdisciplinary artist and writer, who, if you're old enough to remember, co-founded the 'controversial' (according to media, that is) 5th Passage Gallery in the 1990s. She is currently working on her PhD from the University of Sussex. I haven't looked at any of her works in depth, but I'm quite looking forward to seeing how she manages to meld both art and writing in her work (something I'm currently struggling with).

Work -

In addition to my collection development work with NLB, I've been engaged by Dow Jones/Factiva to help out on a taxonomy project they're working on for... *drumroll*... NLB.

My current engagement as a consultant (read: freelancer) is for a month, but likely it'll be something I'll be working on till late next year. As it's a work-in-progress, I can't really talk about it in detail, except to say that I was roped in specifically for their arts collection and will be designing and developing a new taxonomy that will allow users better access to library materials. I'm quite excited and looking forward to working with the others in the group.

As if this isn't a full plate already, I'm also helping author Ovidia Yu with some editorial work - searching and compiling a bibliography of news articles and reviews about her and her works. We met each other via email for some other project, and she asked me if I knew anything about getting someone to help her with newspaper archives. I said I could help, and the next thing I knew, I was hired.

So between schoolwork and workwork, I pretty much live in the National Library now.

NLB ought to give me some kind of award for that. Like maybe food vouchers from Han's or something. :)

Home -

I've got a new flat-mate. Oi Ee, Jae's friend and old uni mate, is a designer from KL who's based here now. If you've been following these journals for some time, you might remember her from this earlier entry.

That's all for now. More updates soon (I hope).

Won Lee, Deleuzean aesthetics and experiments in clay

2007-06-27T11:36:00.000+08:00

Attended the first day of my workshop with sculptor Won Lee at NAFA this afternoon. Lee, in Singapore to particpate in a sculpture symposium, was invited to present a lecture on Deleuzean aesthetics and then lead a session on applying some of Deleuze's ideas through clay sculpture.

The group that turned up for the workshop was small, about eight of us, and comprised of former NAFA students, current lecturers, and new students like myself. It was unofficially my first day at a class so it was particularly interesting for me to meet some of the people I'll be spending the year with.

The lecture on Deleuze was complex, as I had expected. Even Lee, during the lecture, said several times, the texts aren't easy to grasp at first. One of Deleuze's philosophies, if I understand it well enough to put it so plainly, concerns freeing oneself from all forms of structure and system, favouring chaos instead of organisation. Not so much to cause anarchy, but to free oneself to the point where a new way of approaching life can be sensed, captured and expressed. Because Deleuze uses language in a way contrary to what we're taught, it may take several readings and many years of study before one fully comprehends the depth of his work.

Reading Deleuze reaffirmed his way of approaching his art, said Lee, who has the tendency to work quickly, expressing the encounter with an object or model, rather than overthinking the method of defining it. He enjoys 'accidents' in his work, and allows his process to vary.

While the focus of Lee's works seems to be on the feel of the subjects, rather than what the subjects mean, or have, if anything, to say, to describe Lee's art as anti-conceptual, simply experimental, or fully expressionistic would not be entirely correct. There is something almost ethereal about his abstract sculptures. Even if there were no message, a typical Lee abstract figure manages to convey, with its imprints and gestures, the breadth of his imagination at the moment he encounters his subject. Like Deleuze, Lee finds himself a new grammar to explain this moment.

After the lecture, it was our turn for an 'encounter'. We were given two hours to observe a moving nude model - a Chinese lady who ran through several poses for us. She would take a few minutes to stand in front each of us and we had to work quickly with the clay, to mould our experience of seeing and feeling.

It has been ages since I last worked in 3D (I took a sculpture elective back in La Salle under local artist Han Sai Por, but even then I worked in marble and copper, and I wasn't very good to begin with). Working with clay in this way was new to me. Almost immediately, I began to overthink my process - Do I make armatures? Do I roll my clay into little balls? Do I attempt a Giacometti-inspired piece? It took me ten minutes to settle down and switch off the conceptual artist in me. Keep quiet and just look at the model, now grab some clay and go. I worked steadily for almost all of the two hours. At the end of the session, this is what I ended up with:

What struck me most about the model, as she stood in front of me, arms akimbo, were her well-toned limbs and torso, and I wanted to capture that first. I made an armature out of twisted paper and masking tape, bent it to form the main hoop of the left and right arm, and then covered it in clay. I moulded the body next, then head, and lastly the legs. I didn't have any tools so I used my hands to shape the curvature of the limbs and body. I felt I needed to add some tension to the work so I decided not to sculpt away the base, but to have it echo the rest of the body, almost like she was hewn out of rock. I also tried to capture her head in an upward tilt, her body leaning backwards (you can't really see it from this photo angle though).

Overall, I'm quite happy with the piece, seeing that it's my first attempt at clay sculpture. Lee said he liked the tension, especially in the left leg, and one of my lecturers commented that the work was 'Dali-like'. Persistence of madness, would probably be a fitting title for it then. Form and structure versus chaos, and all that.

Stuff to see, things to do

2007-06-02T11:22:00.000+08:00

June looks like a busy month, with a few things to look forward to:

As Brutal As - an exhibition of drawings and other works by Genevieve Chua. On now till June 10 at La Libreria, 64A Queen Street. Sorry I couldn't be at your opening tonight, Gen... congrats all the same on your first solo show!

Alternative Visions - The Cremaster films by Matthew Barney. June 13 to 16 at the National Museum. I'll be watching all five films over four days. From what I've seen and read, Barney is a little hard to get into - visually stunning mis en scenes and characters that demand extreme patience to sit through. Then again, I've survived a Stan Brakhage film marathon. Trivia: Barney's girlfriend and collaborator is Bjork. I think this is infinitely cool. Like a Brad and Angelina of the avant-garde art world.

Clang: A White Book - by John Clang. June 24 to July 6 at the Substation. A portfolio of personal works by the Singapore-born, New York-based photographer. John will be present at the show for a meet and greet on the 24th.

...

Other stuff that's keeping me busy -

I'm currently preparing work for the following shows - The UOB Painting of the Year, at the Esplanade, Singapore Art Exhibition, at the Singapore Art Museum, and How We Are: Photographing Britain, at the Tate Britain in London.

And of course, I'm also getting my act together and psyching up for school, which starts in July. I'm a little nervous... I hope I have classmates close to my age, who won't make me feel like I'm older than Jesus.

...

Damn the National Library and it's Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) programme :) No matter how much I tell myself I don't really have the time to get through 16 books and magazines, I can't help but borrow every thing that looks good to me. It's the deadly cross effect of being a bibliophile and having a Singaporean-at-a-buffet mentality.

Some good stuff I picked up recently:

Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers on their Art - When it comes to learning about image-making, I personally find reading an artist's autobiography or critique of their own work a lot more helpful than a how-to guide written by a trainer or teacher. In addition to the technical process, you learn context - not just how, but why the picture came to be.

This book offers snippets of insight from the masters of 'classic' photography such as Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz and Imogen Cunnigham, moderns like Rene Magritte who dabbled in the craft, as well as contemporary artists like Robert Frank, Ed Ruscha, and Cindy Sherman. What I like that's different about this collection is the way it presents a photo, usually a lesser known work, alongside the artist's bio and his or her own comments on how the picture was made and what they like or didn't like about it. A great resource.

Robert Rauschenberg: Combines - I love Rauschenberg. I once wrote a paper on him and used to spend hours at the library going through his monograph. He and Marcel Duchamp are the only two people I know who can effectively make interesting, complex pieces of art with things you'd normally find in a dusty bin. It's not as easy as it looks.

Despite my admiration and research I only recently found out that Rauschenberg bats for my team, and was involved with fellow artists Cy Twombly and Jasper Johns. I also found out that Rauschenberg was a friend to that other fabulous creative couple Merce Cunningham and John Cage (His White Paintings were said to have influenced Cage to 'compose' his infamous 4'33). I half-regret not knowing all this info back when I was in college. I would have written a very different paper, for a start.

Johns (extreme left) and Rauschenberg (extreme right). Image: queerarts.org

Looking through Combines is like a walk down memory lane (except this time I'm wondering why all those photos of Rauschenberg and Johns in their snazzy, fey sweaters never did ping my radar the first time round). The way the collection is presented, one work per page, occasionally a two-page spread, makes this book the next best thing to being at the Met or Guggenheim and seeing the works in person.

If you're new to Rauschenberg, don't be intimidated by the lengthy essays that attempt to tell you about the 'poetry' in his work. Try to find it yourself by letting your eye follow the layers of textures and juxtapositions of stark surfaces and found objects. His assemblages created a new language - so much more than painting, subtler than sculpture. They're landscapes, unreal but visceral, all at once.

Sir Ian in King Lear and The Seagull

2007-04-04T11:23:00.000+08:00

Forget Phantom, SIR IAN MCKELLEN IS COMING TO TOWN this July.

Source: Royal Shakespeare Company

McKellen will be playing the lead in King Lear and The Seagull, both of which will be staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company and directed by SIR TREVOR NUNN, former director of the RSC.

More on the Nunn-McKellen collaboration here.

The production is the closing show of the Complete Works Festival, currently staged at the Courtyard, in Stratford-Upon-Avon. All the UK dates for Lear have been sold out. Looks like Singapore is the only Asian stop, before moving on to Melbourne, NZ, NYC and LA.

When we are born, we cry that we are come
To this great stage of fools.

I am geekily excited. Mainly because Lear is one of my favourite texts, and it's great that Nunn and McKellen have picked it for their return to the RSC after all these years. Having the rest of the company there is icing.

UPDATE: I've booked my ticket for Lear's opening night. Yay! Yes, singular, because no one I know wants to fork out money for a four-hour Shakespeare tragedy. Props to my friend Louis who, in an MSN chat today, said 'Ian McKellen is coming here? In what, X-Men the Musical? LOTR the Musical?' :)

At least he didn't say Da Vinci Code.

I hope the Singapore Repertory Theatre (which is bringing the RSC in) will be hosting some kind of workshop or meet-the-director/cast session with Nunn and McKellen. And if so, I hope they do it at the library. NLB STAFF ARE YER LISTENING....

Speaking of SRT, they will be staging Shakespeare in the Park again with a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Fort Canning. Should be fun. Anyone want to go have a picnic and watch fairies? I can get 10% off with my Lear ticket.

Damn, I haven't been this excited about a show since kd lang in 2005... *squee!*

Bits and Pieces at MAAD

2007-03-23T11:25:00.000+08:00

The Bits and Pieces series will be on show at the Market for Artists and Designers (MAAD). The show will include both older prints from the series, as well as some new site-specific work. It's a free event and MAAD has lots of great stuff as well, so do come by if you can.

Venue: Red Dot Design Museum, 28 Maxwell Road
Date: 7 and 8 April (Sat and Sun)
Time: 11am to 7pm (I'll be around on both days from 5 to 7pm)
Admission: Free
Contact: regina[at]wrkshy.net (for sales and commissions enquiries, or if you simply want to set up an appointment to meet me at the show :) )

View sample images, and artist's statement

Tower #3 at Singapore City Gallery, and other updates

2007-02-26T11:27:00.000+08:00

Got mail today from URA telling me they'd like to include 'Tower #3' in their City Gallery exhibition. Apparently it will be a part of a showcase of model city landmarks, with image touchscreens and voiceover narration.

I've written back to them with some terms of copyright and use, and will update with more news about when the picture will go up. In the meantime, here's 'Tower #3', which you might recognise is the facade of the Swissotel Stamford.

Update (27 Feb) - More mail from URA tells me the image will be a part of a semi-permanent touchscreen installation. It'll be up for three years, starting this year.

...

In other news, for those of you who missed the Bits and Pieces showcase at Homeclub, I've just got an update from the organiser that the pics will still be on show till this weekend, March 4.

Bits and Pieces on show at Homeclub

2007-02-22T11:28:00.000+08:00

A few pieces from my Bits and Pieces collection will be making its public debut at Homeclub's Plus 65 event this Saturday.

The photographs will appear as prints as well as projections, along with several other local photo-enthusiasts' works.

Sold! My Postcard from the Edge

2007-01-17T11:29:00.000+08:00

Photos by Dafna Tal

Good news from New York: Remember the pen and ink sketch I sent for the Postcards from the Edge charity exhibition in December?

Last night I got a letter from the organisers with news that my piece is now in the collection of a Ms Lauren A from Rector Place, New York City. (I'm not sure if buyers/donors are supposed to be anonymous, so I'd better not disclose the full name until I contact her for permission).

Anyway... Yes, folks, I sold my first piece and made a nice contribution to AIDS relief and awareness, a cause close to my heart.

More information on the Visual AIDS website (see if you can spot my name under the Ds). Or read/ watch the report on New York One.

Happiness!

Looking at the city through different eyes

2006-12-20T11:30:00.000+08:00

It's been raining buckets since the weekend. The weatherman says we're in for more showers till the end of the week, so it looks like we're in for a damp Christmas. I don't mind the chill when I'm indoors with a nice cup of camomile, but it can be a bit frustrating when you're out and about trying to get your gift or grocery shopping done.

So no outdoor photos for the time being. I might make up for the lack of snaps come New Year's Eve. Jae and I are considering taking part in this year's Eye é City, a photo project which aims to "preserve the collective memories of Singapore through the eyes of people from all walks of life". The project takes place during the last 24 hours of 2006 in Singapore:

In other news, I've been cleaning house and spending some time with Jeff, who's back in Singapore for the holidays. Going around town with Jeff has been an eye-opening experience for me as well. I suppose it has to do with the fact that I haven't really been around Singapore all that much since I came back from my own trip. Things did look different, I remarked some months ago, but I've only just now realised how much.

One funny incident was when we were on the bus on our way to Orchard and we passed Stamford Road.

"Oh my God," exclaimed Jeff, as he pointed out of the window, "The S-11 is gone!"

I told him about the new road diversion and remarked that it was funny how he pointed out the absence of the coffeeshop, and not the larger entity which stood beside it, that is also now gone: The National Library.

I thought perhaps, as you might guess, the library has more 'value' to me than him, so it's not unusual for me to remember it more than he does.

Thinking about it some more now, it's interesting how we all can have different perceptions about places, and how these perceptions shape our thoughts and memories. As Jeff talked about his memories of the coffeeshop, I slowly added bits and pieces of his story to my own personal recollection. Not to make up a new memory, but to give it a 'fuller picture'.

It's a bit like taking photographs isn't it? Or taking part in photo events like Eye é City and ten/twentyfour. Someone else's record or document of a moment lets me witness a single moment for myself, through different angles, through different eyes. My memory of that moment is expanded and enhanced.

I could sit and ponder this the whole day, but the sun has decided to peek out for once in the last 72 hours, which means I'd better run and get my laundry and shopping done.

Interview with Henri Cartier-Bresson

2006-09-01T11:37:00.000+08:00

Charlie Rose interviews Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Some of my favourite quotes:

"I don't take the photograph. The photograph takes me."

"The camera is a way of drawing. When the subject takes me, I am receptive and I shoot. You mustn't want...be receptive...don't think."

"I do not consider myself a photographer. There are millions of photographers. I am a human being. Anyone who is sensitive is an artist."

And for what it's worth, here's a reproduction of my favourite photograph of his of all time:

Lantern Fest at The Chinese Gardens

2005-10-12T11:20:00.001+08:00

I caught the lantern festival ("The Lantern Safari") at the Chinese Gardens on the second last day of its showing. It cost me $13 and at first I was a little peeved that I had to pay that much, but in the end I was very happy I did. My photos weren't all that great (due to my vehement dislike for flash and tripod) but there was a lot to see and do. It took me two hours to get through it all. I'd like to come back next year, maybe even with a sturdy tripod.

The seven-storey pagoda that sits in the middle of the gardens. You can't see it from here but up close, there are several lighted dragons wrapped around the balconies of each level.

There were free lantern giveaways with each ticket and people were lining up in droves to get them lit.

Huge dragon near the entrance. This is one of my favourite lanterns.

This exhibit was called 'Rooster's Wedding' or somesuch. It was quite an elaborate tableau with assorted avian characters playing parts of the wedding entourage.

Aforementioned avian characters. Rather charming and not at all tacky. I spent half an hour walking around the entire wedding.

When it was less crowded, I climbed to the top of the stairs of the seven-storey pagoda and got a close-up. I didn't have a wide enough lens to get a good shot of the dragons though. I love you Nikon Coolpix, but you're shite when it comes to wide shots.

It's not everyday that you get to see a lantern volcano. That thing, on the right my friends, is the head of a cheeky stegosaurus, about to attack the unknowing visitor.

Miniature lion dance costumes and instruments were on display for kids to play with.

The "Fairy Bridge". I wasn't so interested in the fairies, more so in the bridge itself. I found the light under the bridge strangely alluring. I spent an achingly long time trying to balance myself while handholding the camera steady, deep waters merely inches away (that patch of grass in the frame is actually a mass of floating weeds, so I'm a lot closer to the murk than you might guess from the picture). After many missed shots I came away with this.

There was a mini-carnival on the festival grounds. Two women buy tickets for a go on one of the rides as RuPaul gazes down approvingly from the billboard above.

Burst the balloons for a monkey. Mmmmonkey!

"Bu yao pai zhao!" squealed this lady when she noticed I was taking her photo. Don't take picture! Actually there were other tourists already there taking her photo too (a group of loud Americans with flashbulbs, so I guessed they weren't her friends) and I did wave and smile at her before I shot, and she did smile back so I thought all was cool. But then she singled me out to her husband (whose burly arm you see at the bottom left of the frame). I shouted out an apology and slinked away. The Americans however were still shooting and a ruckus soon erupted when I heard hubby yelling in Chinese. Sigh. This is why I don't like to shoot people head on.

I slinked away and stood behind this stall where a candy man was fashioning melted sugar into intricate animal shapes. Deeply fascinated, I walked away thinking what a rare skill this must be only to run into seven more stalls with other Chinese nationals doing the same thing. Apparently not a rare skill in China then.

A Noah's Ark tableau. Love the rainbow.

It was past eleven when I finally left, under a walkway of stars.

News

2000-07-31T18:00:00.002+08:00

Announcements:

5 Aug, 2008 - The Terminus Tour

13 July, 2008 - Absence, now screening at the National Museum

Links

2000-07-31T17:21:00.002+08:00

Some of my favourite and regularly visited sites (updated 31 July 08) -

Art, Design, and Photography

Clubsnap - Local photography community
Concientious - Jorg Colberg's weblog about fine art photography (and more)
Dezeen - Online design magazine, with a focus on product and architectural design
Farm - Singapore-based arts and design network with artist links, local event and job listings, call for submissions, and collaboration opportunities
Jeff Curto's Camera Position - Blog and podcasts about the creative side of photography
Lomography - Shoot from the hip
M.O.D.E - Museums. Objects. Design. Exhibitions.
Nest - Promoting and inspiring female designers
Rion Nakaya - New York City photoblogger (now in Paris)
Tate - British and international modern and contemporary art
Threadless - People often ask me where I get my tees from. Here's where
Utata - A salon-style gathering of photographers sharing images, projects, ideas, and articles
Veer - Photography and illustration stock site
Virb - Social community site with links to images, blogs, music, videos... much like MySpace but a LOT better looking

Film

Film Classification Database - For local classification ratings of films. Managed by the Media Development Authority (MDA)
Hollywood Clicks - Singapore-based film rental portal
IMDB - Internet Movie Database
Shekhar Kapur - Blog by director of Elizabeth, The Golden Age, Bandit Queen, and other films
Tan Pin Pin: Notes from Serangoon Road - Blog by director of Moving House, Invisible City, and Singapore GaGa

Music

Brett Anderson - News, music, images, show listings, and forum
Radiohead - Journal and music videos

Books

Jeanette Winterson - Monthly column, excerpts from books, journalism, and interviews
Neil Gailman - Author's journal and essays

Library

National Library Board - Singapore's national library, where I worked not too long ago
The Rambling Librarian - Ivan, a former colleague, and one of the most prolific bloggers I know

Queer

The Advocate - GLBT news site
After Ellen - News, reviews, and commentary on gay and bisexual women in entertainment and the media
Pelangi Pride Centre - Local community space, resource centre, and library

News and Discussion

BBC
Channel NewsAsia
CNN
Daily Show with Jon Stewart
The Guardian
The New York Times
The Rachel Maddow Show on Air America
Straight Dope Message Board
The Straits Times
The Times

Bio

2000-07-31T17:05:00.009+08:00

Bio (updated 23 Jan 2011)

Regina De Rozario (b. 1973, Singapore)
Contact: regina[at]perceptionthree.net

Regina De Rozario is a Singapore-based arts practitioner who works primarily with photography, video, and text. Her early work includes that of theatre props-maker, graphic designer, copywriter, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. Between 1997 and 1999, she served as an arts and humanities buyer at MPH Bookstores before moving on to the National Library Board in 2001, where she was part of the pioneer staff at Singapore's first performing arts library, the library@esplanade. In 2006, Regina left the library to embark on a 100-day backpacking/museum tour around Europe which in turn, inspired her to return to her art practice full-time. In 2008, she obtained First Class Honours for her Bachelor's degree in Fine Art and Contemporary Writing from the University of Huddersfield (UK) at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Singapore). She completed her Master's degree in Contemporary Practice, also with the University of Huddersfield, in 2010.

Apart from her solo practice, Regina is currently Manager (Visual Arts) at the Singapore Management University's Office of Student Life. She also co-manages, curates and writes for the interdisciplinary art group Perception3.

Education

2010

Master of Arts, Contemporary Practice
University of Huddersfield, UK (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore)

2008

Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours, Fine Art with Contemporary Writing
University of Huddersfield, UK (Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore)

1992

Diploma in Fine Arts (Painting)
Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore

1989

GCE ‘O’ Level Certificate (Distinction in English)
St Hilda’s Secondary School, Singapore

Awards & Honours

2010

NAFA Best Graduate Award

2008

NAFA Best Graduate Award

Fire Award (1st place), NAFA Fine Art Awards

Nominee, NAFA President's Award

2007

Tan Chin Tuan Merit Award for Creative Education

Curatorial Projects

2011

'PAUSE: An Exhibition of Works and Ideas in Progress', Singapore Management University Gallery, Singapore

2002 - 2010

‘ten/twentyfour project’, www.1024.perceptionthree.net

Solo Exhibition

2007

‘Bits and Pieces’, Red Dot Design Museum, Singapore

Selected Group Exhibitions

2010

'Striking Distance', Lim Hak Tai Gallery (NAFA), Singapore

2009

'Pretext', 2902 Gallery, Singapore

'After Hours: NAFA Fine Art Staff Show', Lim Hak Tai Gallery (NAFA), Singapore

'Framing the City', Goethe Institut, Singapore

"No Comment", A Work-in-Progress Show, Sculpture Square, Singapore

Venice Architectural Biennale, Singapore Pavilion, Venice

2008

'ROJAK 12: The Place Issue', The Substation, Singapore

'Time', Tickleart@CityLink, Singapore

‘Digital Homelands’, National Museum of Singapore

‘Out of Our Imagination’, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore

‘Feeling the Blanks’, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore

‘Are We There Yet?’, La Libreria, Singapore

2007

‘Incredibly Imperfect’, University of Huddersfield, UK

‘We Are All Photographers Now’, Musee de l’Elysée, Lausanne

‘Plus65: Alternative Photography in the Lion City’, Homeclub, Singapore

‘Singapore Lounge’, Collegium Hungaricum, Berlin

2006

‘Postcards from the Edge’, Sikkema Jenkins & Co, New York

Collections

Tower#3, Singapore City Gallery collection, URA, Singapore

Bits and Pieces, private collection, Singapore

Blown Away, private collection, New York City

Interviews & Articles

2008

Asian Dragons Rising
Interview on Channel NewsAsia

Out of Our Imagination
Interview by Radio Singapore International

Out of Our Imagination – Emerging Artists in Focus
Media release by Susie Lingham, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts

2006

10/24 – Realness Revisited
Interview by The Ridge, National University of Singapore

1993

One Year After Graduation
Interview by Singapore Art Museum

1992

Five Huge Hang-ups
Interview by The Straits Times

Selected Published Work (Web & Print)

2009

16 Fine Art students disappear but their show goes on
Text published for "No Comment" exhibition publicity (Singapore)

Art in a Time of Emergency
Text published in 'Ongoing on' exhibition catalogue (Singapore)

Wolf Spirits: Interview with Genevieve Chua
Interview published on Fridae.com (Singapore)

The Weight of an Empty Page
Text published in Singapore Architect, issue 249 (Singapore)

2008

The Weight of an Empty Page
Text published in ‘Feeling the Blanks’ exhibition catalogue (Singapore)

Urban Frictions, experiments in narrative
Limited edition self-published collection (Singapore)

The End of All Things, collection of poetry
Limited edition self-published collection (Singapore)

Paradise Found, review of Lim Soo Ngee’s exhibition ‘Bliss: Tropical Garden-Paradise’
Published in NAFActs (Singapore)

2007

Incredibly Imperfect, text for exhibition and website (UK)

Hell’s Kitchen, photograph published in Air Space (Toronto)

2006

Parc das Nacoes, photograph published in M-O-D-E (Melbourne)

...

Detailed CV is available upon request.

Portfolio

2000-07-31T12:11:00.001+08:00

Between Material and Memory: Towards a Psychogeographical Reading of Art in Singapore's Public Spaces

Summary

My research stems from two observations about art in Singapore's public spaces. The first, that there is a general lack of public engagement with art in public spaces, and the second, that this may be due to a 'narrowed reading' cultivated by our commissioning bodies, and the local media.

In this first stage, I have selected psychogeography as my primary research method to observe and map the environment in which public artworks are located, to immerse myself into the ‘experience’ of their design in relation to their immediate environment, as well as to document and analyze my own ‘reading’ and feelings of disengagement towards these works.

The scope of my investigation begins with historical monuments, and includes modernist public sculpture, contemporary public installations and ‘non-commissioned’ site interventions, so as to provide a survey of artworks currently present in our local public sphere, and provide a context for my own practice. The investigation also explores the types of ‘texts’ that influence our reading of these artworks – from the design briefs assigned by commissioning bodies, to the plaques erected on site, to discourse surrounding the works.

Additionally, I have sought to establish psychogeography as a possible, more ‘open’ alternative approach of ‘reading’ works of art in public spaces that could also be utilized and developed into a means of making work during the later stages of my practice. These works are intended to come in the form of ‘text’ itself that could broaden the field of readings and ‘open’ the channels of public engagement.