Sundial Garden

Sundial Garden

The Dilapidated House

The Dilapidated House

Monday, June 28, 2010

Temporary Post

Tentatively, the proposal for Drawing Discourse is as follows:

The exhibition will be divided into two sections:
a) Actually Drawing and
b) Actually Discourse

Actually Drawing:
Drawings will be exhibited like an ordinary drawing exhibition, perhaps with some descriptive texts.

Actually Discourse:
Some drawings are exhibited with texts, xeroxed documents, books, and other paraphernalia, without which the discourse between the viewers and the drawings would be incomplete or inaccurate.

The focus of the exhibition would be on the discourse section rather than the drawing section.

1. Three great artists - Duchamp, Tapies, and Huang Binhong - meet at a drain cover overgrown with weeds. (The Drain Cover Discourse)

2. A joss burner, a pile of firewood, and a wall are linked to Dogen, Ozu, and Sengai. (The Circle-Triangle-Square Discourse)

3. A black and white image of an open grave which looks like a photograph is actually a drawing. (The Open Grave Discourse)

Open Grave at Drawing Discourse



This is a drawing. Find out why at Drawing Discourse.
(Apologies for the low-quality image. A picture of better quality will be uploaded once the show is over.)

Friday, June 25, 2010

Monday, June 21, 2010

Drawing Discourse




Completed poster.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

The Gate



In Soseki's The Gate (Mon), the lonely hero goes to a Zen temple in an attempt to find solace in religion, but fails.

He had come to the gate and asked to have it opened. The bar was on the other side and when he knocked, no one came. He heard a voice saying, "Knocking will do you no good. Open it yourself." He stood there and wondered how he could open it. He thought clearly of a plan, but he could not find the strength to put it into effect....He looked behind him at the path that had led him to the gate. He lacked the courage to go back. He then looked at the great gate which would never open for him. He was never meant to pass through it. Nor was he meant to be content until he was allowed to do so. He was, then, one of the unfortunate beings who must stand by the gate, unable to move, and patiently waiting for the day to end.

(Excerpt from Edwin McClellan's introduction in Natsume Soseki's Grass on the Wayside, translated by Edwin McClellan)

Drawings of Solitude (sin 2005)



This picture was taken by my friend Amanda.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Some drawings from "Sorrowful World" (part 3)



Joss paper furnace. (Circle)



Firewood. (Triangle)



Mu. (Square)

In my next exhibition, I will be showing these three drawings with an essay and other research material to provide an in-depth discussion of these works.

Some drawings from "Sorrowful World" (part 2)



The poetry of nature.

Some drawings from "Sorrowful World"





"Sorrowful World" is the tentative title of my second book, one that I am still working on.
These are the first two drawings in the book. Dead animal, dried rose.
The first drawing is about death, the second drawing is about beauty and impermanence.

Monday, June 14, 2010

More Exhibition Photos





These photographs were taken by one of the shop-owners of Woods in the Books.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore-City/Woods-in-the-Books/127235912926

Exhibition Photos







These photographs were taken by one of the shop-owners of Woods in the Books.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Singapore-City/Woods-in-the-Books/127235912926

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Drawings of Solitude (15)

Drawings of Solitude (14)

Drawings of Solitude (13)

Drawings of Solitude (12)

Drawings of Solitude (11)

Drawings of Solitude (10)



Smoke and ashes. The joss papers preach a false religion, but also the reality of death and impermanence. I find it poetic.

Drawings of Solitude (9)



In those days that I had insomniac nights, I had a curious interest in frangipanis, trees, and potted plants. LZ’s living room had three potted plants resting on an old-fashioned book cabinet near the window. One night, while he and his father were watching television with the lights off, I quickly did a pen sketch of the potted plants and the window. That sketch, entitled "Potted Plants", was to become one of the best sketches I did for the year. I even did a canvas of the same scene which Dr Ho liked a lot, though we both agreed that the sketch was better than the painting. What I wanted to capture was the feeling of the fading light shining through the window, like the fading light that shone through the windows of my old house before it was sold.

LZ’s place was coated with oil and carpeted with dust. While I enjoyed my freedom, I did not quite enjoy staying there. There was probably more dirt and grime in his place than I could clean in a week. That aside, his father often cooked some pungent Chinese medicine and I suspect LZ himself could not tolerate the smell. The only things I loved in his house were the potted plants and the windows. The potted plants evoked a feeling of ominous uncertainty. Some of their leaves were large and thick, others were thorny. My love for windows began about seven or eight years ago, when I saw the window as a paradox of both entrapment and hope...

(Excerpt from an unpolished writing "Holidays")

Drawings of Solitude (8)



May 2003

‘Study of a tree trunk’ is about solitude and contemplation. I am currently adopting a very raw and primitive method of working.

(This drawing was done by dipping twigs and leaves into Chinese ink and drawing with the twigs and leaves.)

Drawings of Solitude (7)

Drawings of Solitude (6)

Drawings of Solitude (5)

Drawings of Solitude (4)

Drawings of Solitude (3)



25 April 2002

I saw and drew a root today. I think it is one of my best drawings so far. I do not know why, but I am reminded of Tapies's works and Zen paintings.

Drawings of Solitude (2)



To draw a tree trunk, one must study it very closely. Look at its texture. Now something puzzles me. Why are there nails on the trunk? Who did this and why?

Drawings of Solitude (1)



A tree that looked like a leaf caught my attention.