heart x artifice

HERVE LEGER FALL '08

2009-08-12T18:28:00.008+08:00

Pencil on cartridge paper, 42cm x 29.7cm.

Flu-ridden, I am on a homebound drawing rampage till August end. Drawings for white frames to be arranged like bricks, and hung on my walls.

WISHLIST

2009-07-30T02:35:00.015+08:00

Copic markers on paper, 38cm x 58cm.

I wish I had a full set of copic markers. They take a huge leap of faith though, as they cannot be erased or covered up like paint can be ; every mistake is a lost chance because copics eat into your paper so irreversibly. One needs to be sure of getting it right or just unafraid of taking chances.

To-do :
- etsy store (after ten drawings)
- self-portrait
~~- source credible internships~~
~~- cv~~
~~- reply rsvp for convocation~~
~~- unfreeze library membership by paying fines~~

and other fresh graduate sundry.

GARVER THE CARVER

2009-06-17T08:01:00.010+08:00

Pencil on cartridge paper, 24cm x 18cm x 18 pages, staple-bound.

Every tattoo tells its tale - the life of tattoo artist Chris Garver unfolds in a visual narrative of monochromatic illustrations, each resembling an individual tattoo. I wrote a simple rhyme to lend cadence and whimsy, and drew with a 0.5mm point mechanical pencil to mimic the precision of the tattoo gun.

POSTAGE STAMPS

2009-05-19T18:03:00.009+08:00

Watercolour on cartridge paper, 3.5cm x 4.5cm x 6 stamps, 20cm x 13cm (contact sheet).

Postage stamps for the Royal Mail (United Kingdom), appealing to a collective nostalgia for the sparkling age of innocence - these stamps celebrate the renowned collaboration between writer Roald Dahl and illustrator Quentin Blake. Exuberant children interact with their iconic characters to depict the joy and wonder they have brought to the world.

I CARRY YOUR HEART WITH ME

2009-05-10T04:35:00.004+08:00

Acrylic on cement wall, 4m x 2m.

A luminiscent love poem, i carry your heart with me by ee cummings, is adoringly represented by a painted collage of strewn flowers blooming from left to right, mirroring the viewer as he walks and reads the poem on the wall, mirroring the poem at its climax with an exuberant blossom, ripe and heady. Many thanks to Sheryo who helped out with the painting!

2009-05-10T03:20:00.003+08:00

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

ee cummings

SILAS STRANGE

2009-05-05T02:40:00.003+08:00

Ink on paper, 21cm x 30cm.

Simple illustrations for a short story I wrote, about a forgotten old man who fell in love.

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - POSTERS

2009-04-17T11:31:00.007+08:00

Acrylic on plywood, 61cm x 86cm x 2 pieces.

Posters for the movie "In the Mood for Love" directed by Wong Kar Wai. Love in the face of cultural entrapment is visually analogised as the movie's protagonists are woven inextricably into their background. Art direction-wise the most pertinent motif is, faithfully, the Shanghainese lady - beehive, cheongsam and lush oriental fabrics.

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - STORYBOARD

2009-04-15T00:48:00.005+08:00

Colour pencil on paper, 10cm x 8cm x 16 frames.

Delicate Chinese papercuts flutter into a title sequence for "In the Mood for Love" - a peony floats onto the floor and is picked up by a cheongsam-ed lady. Words introduce Maggie Cheung as a suited man tucks it into her hair - Tony Leong. The Chinese peony represents love and adoration (interestingly enough, it can also mean "shame").

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE - 3D TYPE

2009-04-13T19:07:00.004+08:00

Collage and acrylic on styrofoam, 42cm x 58cm.

A 3D typographic interpretation of the title "In the Mood for Love". Inspired by Chinese seals, which traditionally denote titles and identities, these letters were carved from a block to form an unique seal for the movie.

BANYAN TREE TVC

2009-04-12T21:38:00.003+08:00

Colour pencil on paper, 15cm x 11cm x 8 frames.

A copy-based TVC for Banyan Tree resorts set to, soundtrack, "Sur le Fil" by Yann Tierson:

Imagine waking to the whisper of gentle waves. Amidst distant birdsongs, the quiet scent of flowers mingles with the morning. Nothing interrupts your repose in this beautifully peaceful room but breakfast in bed. Petals float playfully in the soothing bath and the masseuse will come at noon. You open the window to watch the sun rise over paradise.
Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts
We’ve mastered the art of tranquility.

LUST

2009-04-10T01:28:00.002+08:00

Oil pastels and digital collage, 60cm x 20cm x 3 pieces.

Flowers within art often bear sexual connotations, inspiring these wallpapers for a love hotel based upon Lust. Phallic pistils, unfolding petal lips and an opening bud are engorged to hyper-suggestive proportions. Streams of liquid drip from each floral enclave, signifying sweat, saliva and semen ; "when the dew, which represents semen, falls, the flower opens."

SLUMBER

2009-04-05T05:36:00.002+08:00

Pencil on cartridge paper, assorted sizes.

Found these sleeping in my A'level Art archives, back when I needed sleep so badly and yet there were prep studies to be drawn! These were for an outfit named "Peace" - I was doing fashion design/illustrations. Killer deadlines aside, one can't help but to think fondly back of school days..

ALICE IN WONDERLAND

2009-04-03T05:16:00.001+08:00

Pen on cartridge paper, 29.7cm x 21cm x 16 pages.
©Little Art Bug Workshop

Teaching guides
Oil pastel on catridge paper, Adobe Photoshop, 15cm x 21cm x 32 pages.
©Little Art Bug Workshop

Singapore Biennale has worked together with Little Art Bug Workshop to design an integrated programme to introduce children to Wonder, learning both art techniques and concepts inspired by the story of Alice in Wonderland and Singapore Biennale artists.

Illustrations were done in collaboration with the brilliant EESHAUN and lovely SHERYO.

REDISCOVERING SINGAPORE

2009-04-02T00:50:00.002+08:00

Pen on cartridge paper, 29.7cm x 21cm x 16 pages.
©Little Art Bug Workshop

Teaching guides
Oil pastel on catridge paper, Adobe Photoshop, 15cm x 21cm x 32 pages.
©Little Art Bug Workshop

The new Art Pass Really syllabus (see the old one here) is themed around multi-cultural, cosmopolitan Singapore! Art Pass provides children with an art and drawing foundation through guided activity sheets. Handy teaching guides come with step-by-step instructions and summaries of each lesson - one of my first experiments with layouts and copy.

SNOWGLOBE PRINCESSES

2009-04-01T04:11:00.002+08:00

Colour pencil on cartridge paper, 21cm x 29.7cm x 6 pieces.

Illustrations of the beautiful Disney Princesses from the golden days of multiplane animation, commissioned by AWORLDWITHIN for Valentine's Day.

SECESJA

2009-03-20T02:50:00.001+08:00

Digital, 21cm x 29.7cm.

SECESJA is an ornamental typeface with pretty swirls that are reminiscent of Victorian fluorishes. I transcribed Secesja's alphabets into a huge decorative motif, with their curls forming tendrils, repeated to form a Victorian damask pattern for this poster.

SECESJA SKETCHBOOK

2009-03-19T04:08:00.002+08:00

Acrylic on linen, 51cm x 36cm.

I thought the SECESJA motif looked pretty intricate and interesting on its own, so I painted it onto the cover of a new sketchbook. It took some patience with a size-0 brush but the result looks wonderfully striking and pretty in the sun!

EAST SPRING

2009-03-10T23:24:00.001+08:00

Acrylic on plywood, 15/30cm x 15cm x lots of pieces.

This was such awesome fun my mother gleefully insisted on helping out, even if it was for Little Art Bug Workshop!

DEUS EX MACHINA

2009-03-08T22:13:00.005+08:00

Acrylic on cement wall, 8m x 2m.>

A playful self-initiated collaboration with Sheryo on the graffiti wall at Somerset Skate Park.

POST-IT®

2009-03-06T01:16:00.007+08:00

Digital, 17.8cm x 25.5cm x 3 prints.

Post-it®s customised for the garish housewife Rosie Phua, Donald Trump the corporate Nazi and canine cameo Sparky.

COLLAGE

2009-03-04T18:19:00.001+08:00

Acrylic on canvas, 40cm x 80cm x 12 panels.

Part of designing murals for classes is making sure that everyone gets a chance at painting, usually done by dividing the mural amongst everybody, physically. This encourages pride and a sense of ownership because each child possesses their own portion of the huge outcome.

This mural fits into collages of canvas squares depicting values such as integrity, innovation, and perseverance. Each child painted three pieces and all I had to do after that was touch the outcomes up with a steady hand, but you can still see their hasty brushstrokes here and there!

20 000 FEET UNDER THE SEA

2009-01-20T08:07:00.005+08:00

Ink and oil pastels on cartridge paper, 21cm x 29.7cm x 16 pages.
©Little Art Bug Workshop

A syllabus of 16 worksheets was conceptualised, illustrated and coloured in for LABW's Art Pass (Really) programme, catering to 9 and 10 year olds. The introduction to these fun underwater-themed exercises reads:

Uncover the fantastic and sometimes macabre secrets beneath the deceptively calm surface of the Ocean as you doodle, draw and paint. It's another world down there as you might know already, and it's time to make friends. Be immersed 20 000 feet under the sea!

A VIBRANT SCHOOL

2008-10-31T06:33:00.002+08:00

Acrylic on primed plywood, 1m x 2m x 6panels.

Obeying the requested theme "A Vibrant School Community", I painted children joyously engaged in a full range of school activities. Tried my best to keep the figures life-sized but, somehow, they seem... larger-than-life, haha.

LABW x MARSILING PRIMARY SCHOOL

2008-10-26T06:14:00.003+08:00

Domestic to a fault, I love taking on projects that can be dismantled and brought home for painting ; this was perfect languid indulgence.

Acrylic on wooden blocks, 5m x 2m.

The map in painted mosaic bits.

LABW x RED SWASTIKA PRIMARY SCHOOL

2008-09-26T06:00:00.002+08:00

Acrylic on cement wall, 15m x 1m.

This mural looks deceptively simple. Every section actually required meticulous attention and as it spans about 15 metres, I was painting hard for a week.

LABW x QIHUA PRIMARY SCHOOL

2008-08-20T04:47:00.006+08:00

Acrylic on wooden blocks, 5m x 1.5m x 13 panels.
Photos from Little Art Bug Workshop

Designed with Hsiung Lu Fang and painted in collaboration with several. Like a storybook which spans the hall it stays in, this mural illustrates the history and culture of Singapore in vivid colours.

LABW x FUHUA PRIMARY SCHOOL

2008-07-26T03:39:00.003+08:00

Glaze in cereamic tiles, 190cm x 60cm x 5panels.
Photos from Little Art Bug Workshop

These tiles greet visitors with a twinkling display of this school's core values. They can withstand the unforgiving afternoon sun for ages, a fitting reward for the ardous processes of glazing, firing and varnishing behind the scenes. Commissioned by LABW.

LABW x NGEE ANN PRIMARY SCHOOL

2008-07-24T05:27:00.002+08:00

Acrylic on wood, .4/.8/1.2m x 1.2m x 20 pieces.

These patterns were derived from ethnic fabrics, painted by ten yearers and subsequently touched up and polished.

LABW x CHIJ KELLOCK

2008-07-23T05:14:00.013+08:00

Emulsion paint on textured wall, 6m x 2m x 2 walls.
Photos from and executed together with LABW.

School mural inspired by a vintage Samsonite!

LABW x CHIJ NATIVITY

2008-07-22T03:59:00.011+08:00

Acrylic on whitewashed wall, glaze on ceramic tiles, 20m x 2.5m.

The smilies make their first appearance here. Glazing pictures on ceramics is tricky - colours are never what they seemed after firing. Painted in collaboration with the talented Hsiung Lu Fang.