Art Projects Gallery is delighted to present Yen Phang’s (b.1979) latest works in a solo exhibition titled “Ship of Theseus”. This will be the Singaporean artist’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong.
“Ship of Theseus” is one of the oldest concept in Western Philosophy; having been discussed by the likes of Heraclitus and Plato; that raises the question of whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. Continuing his fascination and passion with nature and biology that have been the sources of references for his art, the philosophical idea behind the “Ship of Theseus” inspired him to create this new series of works.
Using layers upon layers of paint applied in clean, successive strokes, Phang builds up each composition of a reconstructed nature much akin to how a city manicured urban landscape, that is being constantly pruned, cut and trimmed, materialises. Likewise, as the artist questions in his mind, when applied to the human body, whether one can be considered as being of the “same” nature. This thought process and painting style results in a refreshing visual expression that borders between the real and virtual, imbuing this new collection of works with an artificial-digital quality yet executed in a painterly manner.
Phang is a prolific artist whose art practice traverses across multiple medium and genre, including performance art, installation art, sculpture and painting. He was a recipient of the Winston Oh Grant (2016), Winston Oh Travel Research Award (2016), and was awarded the Cliftons Art Prize (2015) and the UNSW Julius Stone Prize (2006). His work has been collected by the Singapore High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Singapore), British Airways for their Terminal 1 Lounge at Changi Airport, Singapore. He has also initiated projects such as “I.D. (The Body’s Still Warm)” (2018), Displacements: 13 Wilkie Terrace“ (2013),“The Peony And the Crow“ (2016), and “Repurposing Nostalgia” (2016) under the Displacements banner.
“Ship of Theseus” will be shown at Art Projects Gallery from 17 Jul 2021 to 4 Sept 2021.
Artist’s Statement
“Ship of Theseus” is a tribute to discarded flora. Post-lockdown in Singapore, I started paying attention to the interactions between our urban nature and public workers/private gardeners. There was a lot of pruning, cutting, trimming to our grass, bushes, and trees.
The actions were explosive, noisy, almost violent, all in the effort to maintain a certain neatness in our ‘garden city’. When nature was wilder, more overgrown, it seemed more lush, more alive. After the essential functions of public landscaping had recommenced, the plants appeared then to recede into the background again.
So this is my own personal celebration of public planting through the language of abstraction, specifically, through ideas of camouflage and “noise” (nature as visual/informational/spatial noise). I’ve kept the strokes clean, bereft of the overtly gestural, a little alienating in the sense of the artificial-digital (after a prolong period of self-confinement under the pandemic), inspired by ghillie suits and notions of “decoration”.
The forms are meant to be cell-like and distinct, but fungible, like plants in an ecosystem. I draw in a pink hues and flesh tones to implicate my own biology and body in the experience of my environment. Running as an undercurrent alongside the painting process is the paradox of the Ship of Theseus, which poses this question: if parts of our impermanent nature (and our bodies) are shed/replaced constantly, is still the same nature?
藝途畫廊榮幸呈現新加坡藝術家彭學源在香港的首個個人展覽-忒修斯之船，展覽將涵蓋彭氏近年的創作。
《忒修斯之船》自傳統哲學概念，這個討論製造一個假設，假如忒修斯之船上的木頭逐漸被替換，直到所有的木頭都不是原來的木頭，那這艘船還是原來的那艘船嗎？藝術家透過反思這個概念來介入自己的創作。彭學源素來關注與自然及生物相關的議題，其全新作品以忒修斯之船的哲學概念回應自然。
彭學源的創作以豐富的筆觸層層堆疊，營造出清新脫俗的畫面感覺。彭氏透過重構自然來比喻景觀的在城市化下的變遷。對藝術家而言，城市化的過程就有如園藝師修花剪草一樣，不斷地改變城市面脫和精神價值，令藝術家重新思考城市景觀的今昔之別。同樣，以“忒修斯之船”概念放至人類肉體及精神的層面上，藝術家重新反思自身的經驗和一致性。這種思想體系及繪畫風格重新詮釋一種其獨特的視覺表現形式，並反思真實與虛幻之間的界線，以繪畫回應在當代社會中對應科技與人造物的議題
彭學源的創作橫跨多類型的媒介及主題，包恬行為，裝置，雕塑及繪畫。彭氏過往多次獲得獎項，包括Winston Oh Grant(2016), Winston Oh Travel Research Award(2016),Cliftons Art Prize(2015) 及UNSW Julius Stone Prize(2006). 彭氏的作品曾被新加坡駐馬來西亞大使館、新加坡外交部及英國航空公司所收藏。彭氏亦曾參與不同的藝術項目，包恬“I.D. (The Body’s Still Warm)” (2018), “The Peony And the Crow“ (2016), and “Repurposing Nostalgia” (2016) 及Displacements: 13 Wilkie Terrace“ (2013)。
展覽《忒修斯之船》於2021年7 月17日至9月4 日於藝途畫廊開放，歡迎大眾參觀。
藝術家創作自白
《忒修斯之船》向一些被砍伐而廢置的植物致敬的，在新加坡封城之後，彭氏開始留意人類自然與園藝師的互動，並發現當中涉及很多對於植物的修剪和砍伐。
對於藝術家而言，這些砍伐行為是嘈吵的，爆炸性的，是暴力的。只為了都城的整潔，當植物的生長更茂盛，人類對其修剪就更頻繁。最終植物又再一次的後退成為人類和城市的配襯。
這系列的作品，彭氏透過抽像的繪畫語言轉化對所見，並視為紀念的儀式。回應植物保護色和城市噪音之間的關係。受吉利服和裝飾性藝術所影響，藝術家以圖案化和整潔的筆觸營造一種人造的，異化的感覺。
彭氏作品中的植物造型是有機的，獨特同時又可被取代的。通過運用粉色調子繪畫有機的痕跡隱喻自身的生理和肉體與其環境體驗。在思考身體的生理變化的同時，藝術家以忒修斯之船之悖論理解生物的新陳代謝及城市的變化。在身體和城市系統之間來回往返，重新思考人類無常本性與自身身份的問題。
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