Exhibition of Sculptures and Books

[Merlion]

I have just started a small solo exhibition of sculpture and books in the lobby of the main Library of Nanyang Technology University, Singapore. This is where I have worked since 1982 until I retired. The show is scheduled for two weeks, Oct 16 to 30.

The title is the same as my previous big solo last May. It is on 'Our World Today'. This time the space is much smaller. Thus for sculptures, I display again only seven of my previous 19 exhibits, the smaller ones. I have however redo at a bigger size one of my previous exhibits, and have it installed prominently outside the entrance of the library. This is scheduled for a longer display, for at least 6 months.

As the venue is in a university library, I have also planned a book display, on the same theme. I have selected 40 books. Unfortunately, the library can only find to display about 20 of these books. Some of the rest they have not yet got, or have been borrowed out.

This exhibition is not formal, thus there is no opening ceremony.

[Merlion]

Yesterday even before I finished setting up the displays, students are already dropping in. They do pause to look at the exhibits and read the write-ups. Today I had to go back there and I am glad to see students continue to stop by.

It has been my intention to create these sculptures and present write-ups on them that require viewers to think, and learn. This is very suitable for a university academic environment of course.

As I had many spare catalog booklets from the last show, I display them for visitors to take away free. I notice they do get snapped up fast.

I also place a guest book and ask visitors to write comments. I am glad they do write, although not long ones.

I'll try to attach some pictures.

[Merlion]

As we know, we need pedestals and stands for displaying sculptures at an exhibition. At this show I have a problem as the library can only provide me with three 3-ft square tables. I have to provide the rest.

I had briefly mentioned in another thread I finally solve the problem by purchasing 6 sets of folding tubular steel legs at US$12 each, like the legs of a similar one shown below. I then made my own tabletops out of 10-mm plywood sawed to size 2' x 3'. After screwing on these plywood boards, these folding tables are light and easily transportable.

At the show I planned to cut and staple velvet cloth on top and sides to make nice looking pedestals. But finally, as the show is not formal, I just spread on top my uncut velvet cloth like table cloth.

The above picture shows my yellow velvet placed on top of two 3' x 3' tables. The others are dark blue velvet and maroon velvet placed on top of pairs of 2' x 3' tables.

[Merlion]

At the picture above in post #2, the exhibits are, clockwise from the left:

Examination
Genocide
More Babies
Deadly Middle East Wars
Menacing Virus (you can just see a part of it at the bottom right).

[Merlion]

Here is the 2nd photo of my show taken at a slightly different angle.

From bottom right clockwise, three of the exhibits were also in the first photo.

They are Menacing Virus, Deadly Middle East Wars and More Babies.

At the right of the white pillar are the display of books on 'Our World Today', my guest-book, and the exhibition signboard on a easel stand. On the right is a new exhibit I painted called Our World.

Many students walk past in front of these displays and signboard as it is one of the main passageways going into the Library.

The things at top left are not a part of my show. They are computers for students to check on the library 'holdings', i.e. books, etc.

The woman with head scarf is a Malay cleaning worker. Malays are mostly Muslims. The student on the right is either Malay or Indian. She does not look Chinese. These are the three main racial groups in our society.

[evaldart]

Originally Posted by Merlion

At the picture above in post #2, the exhibits are, clockwise from the left:

Examination
Genocide
More Babies
Deadly Middle East Wars
Menacing Virus (you can just see a part of it at the bottom right).

Merlion, while I respect and appreciate your desire to address these major issues, I would think they are not just symptomatic of "OUR" world - I would think that every human age has had to deal with these things..perhaps your titile should be "The same old story"

[racine]

a few more photos perhaps Merlion? closer to?

[GlennT]

Originally Posted by evaldart

Merlion, while I respect and appreciate your desire to address these major issues, I would think they are not just symptomatic of "OUR" world - I would think that every human age has had to deal with these things..perhaps your titile should be "The same old story"

If a visitor from another planet were to create this exhibit after a brief tour of Earth, it could just as well be Our World: Lots of open water and land with not a soul in sight juxtaposed with crowed cities busy with commerce and archaic modes of transportation, Beautiful trees, flowers and wildlife, Sweet people all over except for a select bunch of dangerous power-mad fanatics and their ignorant followers, Rapidly advancing communications and information technologies with lots of talk and much less listening.

Or something else entirely. It depends on what you chose to notice.

[jOe~]

It depends on what you chose to notice.

How do you choose? I must be indecisive. Maybe thats why my mind is not closed.

Also, I can't make out whats on the table.

[Merlion]

Keep your comments coming. It is interesting to get different points of view.

By the way, the other works I exhibited that are not shown in these two pictures above are Globalisation, and Code Sequences.

So far I have not taken close up pictures. But these are all, except one, repeat exhibits of my earlier solo show last May, and I may have shown them in this forum before. This is why over here I focus more on talking about how I, without much help, set up this smaller show for students in their library.

[grommet]

I guess this is how one person- show by show -begins to change the world. Make sure there's no typos on your manifesto or we could be in big trouble.

[Merlion]

Oh. Lets talk about my motivation. I'm just trying to show through art diffierent aspects of our world today, the good, the bad, and if suitable the ugly. I try to show the significant ones, but some are difficult to depict through art.

I do target them for the young adults especially students, to help open up their mind.

It is good if they help in a small way to change the world, but this is not my explicit aim. I am no Al Gore. And Grommet, I have no intention to declare a manifesto, so there's no worry about typos.

Some of what I show may be the same or similar in our world in the historic past. But my concern and interest is our world today and the near future.

[racine]

dear Merlion, i checked out your previous show images, looks like an exciting instalation. i still feel it would be easier to form an understanding of your work if we could see a few key pieces closer to, other views. its a bit like observing from outer space.

[Merlion]

I'll try to take and show some close up pictures. But I have to bear in mind they may cause unhappiness to some here.

Racine: What I showed so far are a God or divine eye view of our world today.

[Merlion]

Here are two more pictures.

The picture on the right shows the ground view of my display area. My sculptture hung on the wall is collectively called Globalisation. Individually from the left, they are called Breaking Down Barriers (like trade barriers), Anti-Globalisation Protest, Thinking Out of a Box (the Thinker sitting on top of a box), Welcoming Talents, (the US have been good at this), and Stop the World I Want to Get Off (the world is changing too fast).

The picture on the left shows my sculpture installed on the left and right outside the Library entrance. It is called Code Sequences, and consists of two sequences. The sequence on the left is the DNA Code, (a nearly random sequence of C, G, A & T). The one on the right is the Digital Binary Code, (a nearly random sequence of 0 & 1).

Edit: Trying to replace picture on Globalisation with sharper one. But it is not much better.

[GlennT]

Who is Lee Wee Nam? Any relation to Pee Wee HerMan ?

[Merlion]

Originally Posted by GlennT

Who is Lee Wee Nam?

He must be rich in his time, and his name is being remembered by his children who donated money to the university. I think US universities also have this idea for getting endowment donations. Perhaps the idea started there.

[grommet]

DNA codes and such... Have you been following any of this stuff about Epigenomes?

[racine]

i believe Merlion that mr 'pee wee 'GlennT is being a little bit rude, i hope he may yet learn some cultural empathy. there are one or two 'cut-outs' that i cant make out completely, one appears to be a world with a cockrel on top, if so many times used in the past by 'pathe films' in the uk for news reel. and others, any connection? or is it male ego stereotype-globe? the other is [i think] 3rd from the left, cant understand this yet, a bit blurred.
i appreciate the fact that you wish to communicate with students, by that do you imply that you are simplifing ? i am abivalent about this if so.

[Merlion]

Racine: If you mean the 5th profile on the wall, it is Stop the World I Want to Get Off. It shows two men standing on a globe trying to jump off. I'm afraid the picture is small and slightly blur. I'll come back to this later.

There is one other sculpture also about something on top of a black globe. It is Menacing Virus (about the biological viruses like HIV, SARS and Avian Flu). I have got a picture with me and can show, see below. You can see the white signboard beneath the sculpture. The write-up on this signboard, like the others, are long. They are suitable for university students to read, and I am glad to see students reading them while looking at the sculptures.

[Merlion]

Ok. I've found a picture of the profile Stop the World I Want to Get Off. The picture was taken earlier on, from the other side of the profile. Thus the men here were jumping to the right while in the show they are jumping to the left.

For those who do not know, 'Stop the world I want to get off' is the name of a West End and Broadway musical in the 1960s.

[Blake]

Congratulations Merlion
I hope the show goes well for you
Blake

[Merlion]

Thanks Blake. I am satisfy with this show at the university library. The feeling is different from the bigger open show last May.

There are students appreciating this show and mention this in the guest book. They are the more serious type. I think I have helped in opening further their minds, and making them think more deeply into things around them.

[racine]

stop the world i want to get off. sub plot of most sci fi's ever written. i like the fact that it is cut out from another image, this one looks like a man in the trees, in the west the connotations of this can get curious, from the 'green man' of ancient [pre]history to voyeurism and homosexuality [eg gilbert and georges '2 men in the bush' film short] in short the forest is duality in metaphor. perhaps he's just hugging a tree.
your display needs something i feel, the site is clearly non standard but this can be good, i am troubled by lables stuck to objects. it increases the chance of literality which is the great destroyer.

[Merlion]

Racine. 'Stop the world I want to get off' is one of five profile sculptures, jointly called 'Globalisation'. The concept comes from the observation that many people cannot take the fast pace of change in this age of globalisation. It shows two men standing on a globe trying to jump off.

I don't have labels struck to my sculptures. For each sculpture I have a A3 size signboard showing the sculpture's title and a relatively long write-up. (A3 size is double A4 or about double letter size).