The exhibition we visited featured Aaron Curry’s work. At first I was not very interested in his work because of his use of neon paints that I though was rather harsh. But the more I explored the gallery, the more I grew to appreciate and like his works. The eclectic, funky edgy forms and bright colours enhanced each other. And as Christine, our gallery tour guide, explained the background of his works, it made so much sense. Apparently what we see that is on display are the pieces he chose after doing hundreds of pieces which shocked me as I did not expect that much time that went into it. The images are very visceral and emotive which you could feel and it was amazing how paper and paint could convey those feelings.
Later as we toured STPI, I never expected to learn that there was more to paper. There were so many types and forms and textures and I was mindblown because the paper I knew was those from fancy paper and I did not expect paper to be so experimental as I assumed it was fragile. We weren’t allowed to take pictures of the paper making area due to confidentiality of artist’s works but it was really fascinating to see the whole process that was so labour intensive and delicate at the same time.