Lawrence Tio
Curator Talk by Lawrence Tio
Topic:
Investigation-documentary-concerns-development-process-approach-presentation-discussion
Date: 15 Oct 2004, Fri
Time: 1.30 – 3pm
Venue: #02-08, Seminar Room
NAFA1, HQ & SVA Building
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
80 Bencoolen Street
Singapore 189655
Admission: Free
Synopsis
In contemporary art, ‘process of making’ is a significant but often neglected
aspect of the final work especially by non-privileged viewers. This seems more
evident in Singapore because (among other reasons) process wasn’t given much
emphasis through presentations in the gallery space or discussions with the
audience. Such factors contribute to the lack of understanding of contemporary
art and practice. This talk aims to investigate the importance of process in
making art by taking a closer look at the processes and approaches of 5 local
contemporary artists employed in creating a site specific spatial artwork for a
gallery space - Earl Lu Gallery I as part of the exhibition X-Ray: Spatial
Approaches and Processes.
About the Curator
Lawrence Tio is both the Curator of Earl Lu Gallery as well as a practising
contemporary visual artist. Aside from organising contemporary art exhibitions
of high critical merit, notably Text & Subtext: Contemporary Art by Women
Artists from Asia, which toured nternationally, Lawrence is also a Master of
Fine Art candidate in LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. As an artist, he has
actively exhibited both locally and internationally and has received the Jurors’
Choice Award (1998) and an Honourable Mention Award (2002) in the prestigious
Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards.
X Ray: Spatial Approaches and Processes
3 – 26 April 2004 · An exhibition at Earl Lu Gallery, LASALLE-SIA College of the
Arts
NEWS RELEASE
Five local artists explore space at Earl Lu Gallery
Monday, March 29, 2004
Five of Singapore’s most promising young artists investigate space as part of
the latest group exhibition at Earl Lu Gallery at LASALLE-SIA College of the
Arts. Featuring the artworks of Abdul Rashid Gapur, Khiew Huey Chian, Tang Ling
Nah, Sawn Hwang and Lim Shing Ee, X-Ray: Spatial Approaches and Processes aims
to examine both the artists’ developmental processes as well as their personal
engagements with spatiality. It also intends to highlight these processes as a
significant and integral aspect of contemporary art practice.
Says Lawrence Tio, the curator of the exhibition: “X-Ray: Spatial Approaches and
Processes highlights the often-overlooked significance of process in
contemporary art. In particular, it examines the processes involved in the
creation of a spatially-oriented work. This exhibition takes as its premise, the
processes and approaches of five Singaporean artists to their engagements with
space.”
For instance, Khiew’s work seeks to question the functions of particular spaces.
By installing a ‘house’ within an interior space of a gallery, he problematises
the relationships between interior and exterior spaces. On the other hand, Abdul
Rashid’s Rear View features unappealing laundry hung in a random yet organised
manner – shadows and colours within the congested yet organised space. After
simplification of these complex aesthetics using lines on aluminium sheets, they
are repositioned and presented in a gallery – a space far removed from its
origin. Hwang’s work, however, does not deal with spatial concerns on an
aesthetic level – he aims to epitomise the concept of the artwork as a pure
artistic form. His work, 88 Branded Pedestals shows 88 white Formica shelves
fixed onto the entrance walls of the gallery. They are empty shelves with no
objects or artwork on them – just empty spaces. Immediately viewers are
challenged with the questions “what makes art?”, art and “if absence can be
accepted as art?”. Meanwhile, Tang deviates from her usual methodology for this
exhibition by leaving parts of her urbanscape drawing ‘incomplete’ and by
continuing to develop the image throughout the duration of the exhibition. Lim’s
work Sealed Medley, on the other hand, is an installation consisting of two
‘buildings’ – a smaller, organically-shaped ‘building’ made of clay, bringing to
mind an earthiness that exudes a sense of being out in the open, natural
landscape, as well as a larger wall-like structure that resembles an industrial
power plant or factory.
Says Tio: “The dominating urban landscape of Singapore and its social
implications has revealed itself to be a prevalent preoccupation among artists
in Singapore. While this is an unquestionably significant issue, my concern is
with the various processes and approaches through which local artists engage
with space and spatiality. This exhibition will examine not only the results of
these approaches but also reflect upon the processes taken along the way.”