Archive for May, 2009
Whether filming the sunset and sunrise simultaneously, or immersing laboriously-made fiberglass-cast mountain landscapes in tanks shrouded in mist, Mariele Neudecker’s works reconstruct breathtaking physical landscapes within a gallery space.
In this interview, Neudecker elaborates on the line between the physical and metaphysical, on how the basic physical and chemical contents of the ‘tank pieces’ can amount [...]
Continue Reading...
We tend to think of artists as operating on the fringes of society. What happens when an artist turns curator of a large international exhibition?
In this interview, artist and Singapore Biennale co-curator Matthew Ngui speaks about crafting the show and selecting works that are not only beautiful but challenging.
Citing two examples from the show, he [...]
Continue Reading...
Director of the Mori Art Museum and 2nd time artistic director of the Singapore Biennale 2008, Fumio Nanjo talks about the theme of Wonder and how it manifests in the selected works.
He also talks about the difference between public art and large international art exhibitions, the role that governments and corporations can play alongside organizers [...]
Continue Reading...
It’s easy to start a fashion blog, but keeping the style-hungry fans happy is a different thing altogether.
Fascinated by his popularity and the blog as a medium for surveying global taste, we speak to style-spotter and jetsetter Yvan Rodic, a.k.a. Facehunter, during his visit to Singapore in late 2008, on searching for style and personality [...]
Continue Reading...
Every society needs its bards, who can distil the spirit of the times and churn it out in the form of spellbinding lyrics, beats and melody.
Commonpeople kick it with B-Quartet, a Singapore-based band of brothers who blend progressive rock, metal, jazz and funk together with searing emotion and tight songwriting to create their personal brand [...]
Continue Reading...
Back on location, Heman Chong spends a moment with Commonpeople at his installation for the Singapore Biennale 2008 in a former volunteer corps camp off Beach Road.
His works consist of a 10m-long white billboard, 4 rooms with 3,000 stickers laid out in geometrical formation on the walls, and a sea of 250,000 black name cards [...]
Continue Reading...
Tucked away in a shophouse on Amoy Street, Strangelets sells charming and eclectic objects by designers and artisans from cities all over the world, lovingly displayed in the store.
Husband-and-wife team Josh Comaroff and Ong Ker-Shing spend a morning with Commonpeople to share how it all began (and how the world will end).
With its unique selection [...]
Continue Reading...
Raw Kitchen Bar is a restaurant for friends and conversation, housed in a small outpost at the back of the old Bukit Timah Fire Station.
Flanked by a nature reserve and retrofitted with custom-made furniture, Salvation Army cast-offs, and colorful artwork on unfinished concrete walls, Raw Kitchen Bar has an intimate, tropical feel.
Owner Javier Perez takes [...]
Continue Reading...
Hans Peter Kuhn (b. 1952, lives in Berlin) chats with Common People in front of his sound & light installation at the Esplanade Bridge for the Singapore Biennale 2008.
Originally a sound designer in theatre, Hans Peter Kuhn creates sound and light environments where he uses simple lines, color, and minimalist constructions to harmonize with the [...]
Continue Reading...
Multidisciplinary artist Hans Op de Beeck sheds some light on Location (6), an installation created for the Singapore Biennale 2008 that one enters to experience an infinite snowscape.
Hans Op de Beeck creates scenes that are both recognizable and anonymous, distilled to their barest elements. From an empty scene at traffic lights in the middle of [...]
Continue Reading...
Commonpeople get into a Singapore Flyer capsule to interview Spell#7 and sound artist Evan Tan about Sky Duet, their collaborative Singapore Biennale 2008 artwork in the form of an audio guide to be experienced on the Flyer.
Since 1997, Paul Rae & Kaylene Tan have been devising performances and new media artworks, including an audio tour [...]
Continue Reading...