The Collection of Objects features an assemblage of handmade wooden objects and the original forms they were originally derived from.
It is an assertion that humans inherently classify things in a way they understand them, and this influences what we do.
However, would a tree think of parts of its felled self as waste?
Or does a tree consent to being transformed into these ‘things’ we consider commodities?
Would the concepts of ‘things’ even exist in a world without us?
Ofyto is a project combining biomonitoring technology and service design to monitor ozone pollution levels in Singapore. It aims to act as an early warning system for monitoring the levels of harmful pollution present in our air. Plants are highly sensitive to environmental pollution compared to human senses and artificial sensors. Through service design, introduce low-cost localized biomonitoring measures for ozone pollution. The goal is to promote better health and improve overall air quality in the environment.
This thesis investigates the concept of Bangsa Malaysia in terms of cultural aspects and the development of Malaysia’s national identity. This journey began with my exploration of the socio-political contexts of the lion dance throughout its historical development, leading to the ban of lion dance under the historical context within which the 1971 New Culture Policy formed in Malaysia. The idea of tiger dance emerged from this historical background and prompted me to use Tiger as the subject in exploring diaspora identities, mythology and cultural belongings in Malaysia.
This research derives from retrospection of my cultural background (Malaysian Chinese) and my particular interest in the dynamic nature of culture as a system of ever-evolving symbols. The outcome of this research is a mixed-media installation, Menjadi Rimau (To Become Tiger). Through this installation, I propose a socio-political and cultural imagination where the Tiger is presented as a supra-ethnic national identity. In this imagined space, the tiger ‘unified’ the people of the nation across their differences and their ‘lost origins’ caused by the history of enforced diasporas.
By re-examining a collective historical and mythological narrative, Menjadi Rimau serves as an open dialogue on diaspora identities in Malaysia, prompting a reflection on our cultural belonging to Bangsa Malaysia. Between fiction and fact, the work hopes to dissect cultural pluralism as part of a colonial heritage, and to offer a critical and poetic exploration of post-colonial discourses, mythology and diasporas.
swallow me (Again) is a time-based, multi-media installation that seeks to present an abstraction and exploration of the Mother Wound (the inter-generational pain passed between women in a line of inheritance) through the ritualization of physical motions in sculptural interaction.
The artwork presents a speculative emancipation ritual questioning the ideology of healing and its possibility in the context of something so innately present.
Perhaps the only way to end a cycle of trauma is to remove its latest vessel from the world.
This FYP thesis explores the traits of traditional Chinese paper cuts, specifically the Guangdong paper cuts, to find out how to merge these cultural values and techniques into a kinetic paper cutting installation, as if bringing them back to life in modern settings. By casting moving shadows of symbolic motifs, they carry well wishes for this art form. This work reminds viewers that cultural heritage should not be constrained to its original form. External engagement with this art form is crucial in bringing it into a brighter future. We should look beyond what is already present to see this art form’s future potential. Humans are important vessels in bringing these heritages forward into the future with us as we progress to strike a balance between efficiency and craftsmanship by merging traditional with modern aesthetics.
Chinese paper cutting is not only a form of art expression, but a medium for the people to tell their stories and lifestyles. With rich history behind its content and symbolisms taken from real life, this art form captures the way of life, our values and who we were that led us to where we are now.
However, many traditional heritage handicrafts, including the Chinese paper cutting, are slowly fading out from public’s view. Fewer people appreciate this form of craft as it is time-consuming and requires high-level of skill to create.
I studied the traits of the Foshan paper cutting and consolidated them into three main factors: alternating between reality and fiction, use of interconnected lines and cultural-centred topics and themes of the illustrations. This project focuses on these three traits to create symbolic narratives that are hung to create moving shadows. They symbolise the rediscovery and revival of this art form and offer alternate possibilities for it. Participants would be reminded of the beauty of their roots, cultural identity, and their roles in preserving this form of art.
