Tropical Lab Exhibition, 1st to 13th October 2009, Praxis and Project Space Galleries, La Salle College of Art and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore

Final Day, Day 10

Well, here we are on our final day in Singapore. We fly out at 22:50 so have some time to do some sightseeing. There is a promising looking show at Nanyang University of Fine Art and then maybe we'll "promenade" around this incredible city drinking in the sights, sounds and flavours of it's intermix of eastern cultures, hyper modernity and ancient tradition. Hope it's not too cold back in the UK we've become accustomed to the heat!

Exhibition Opening, Day 9

Our exhibition opened today at La Salle at 6pm, with a performance by one of our Tropical Lab colleagues. The setup looked very professional and after mingling with a small but vibrant crowd, we had a speech from the Cheif Academic Officer Venka Purushothaman and Dean of Fine Art Milenko Prvacki and we were given certificates. Along with all La Salle staff we went for a beautiful Indian meal in the center of Singapore and then said many sad goodbyes.

Installing exhibition tropical lab, Day 8

All artists brought their work into the gallery today. It took all day but eventually it all came together. We are in two spaces, Project and Praxis which are opposite each other on the campus. The spaces are unusual, in that they are not the familiar white cube but are full of angles and curves. All the pieces have a sensitivity about them that really reflects the group and the show as a whole is looking very successful. Looking forward to the opening night tomorrow!

Day off, Day 7

Mourl and Komal's day off consisted of; going to the national museum of Singapore, Singapore art museum, the Chinese garden, China town, Arab quarter, boat ride along Singapore river. Every so often they would find pockets of lanterns designed for the Singapore national art competition, varied in original designs and materials; such as plastic bottle and cd's.

Tomorrow awaits stressful set up for their exhibition at La salle, where they will see if their work is a success or not!

Realising our Ideas in the Studio - Day 6

A very exciting and long day studio today finalising our ideas. We started at 9am and finished at 9pm! It's all good........... Got the day off tomorrow so Komal and I are going to do the tourist thing, probably starting off in the Artist Quarter and check out all the exhibitions and musems then maybe take a river cruise or travel the underground (MRT) to wherever it will take us. The gab is just not flowing today so signing off.

Day in the Studio, Day 5

At last the chance to try out all the ideas that have been whirling around our brains about Singapore, Ubin and Sungei Buloh. We were given a generous budget of $50 each for materials and after a relaxed shop and spicy lunch we set to work. Komal is exploring notions of containment and potential expansion and Mourl (me) is interested in transposing the natural to alien and the man-made to natural. Loads of great work going on. Video, sculptural, installation, performance, mixed media, drawing, painting you name it, its all happening...............................

Sungei Buloh Nature Park, Day 4

Mourl and Komal set out early this very morning to Singapore's nature park, Sungei Buloh. There awaited a fresh water habitat of monitor lizards, mud creepers, tree-climbing crabs, the golden web spider and much much more. As they walked through the nature park situated to the upper north west of the island of Singapore they could look out to the neighbouring country of Malaysia. The nature park like the island Palau Ubin, just off shore the main island was where nature was allowed to breathe life of it's own. Singapore is an ever changing island, there is no real time for people living here to ever really analyse there surrounds. There is a constant battle to maintain greenery in the city, however this idea of maintain is so carefully controlled, nature therefore is constructed in the format of the clean organised buildings, it is contained. Trees exist on the seventh floor of the building encased by surrounding offices.

A full day of arty talk. Day 3

Hello again. Spent all day at La Salle today giving and receiving artist talk! Very fulfilling and extremely interesting to see the concerns and interests of all involved. Brief run down of some of the areas under exploration are:

• Re imagining and playing in the Urban Environment
  
• Materiality without conceptualization
  
• Defining Deviance
• Art as T'art (needs further explanation I know but I'm going to leave you hanging)
• Erasing the past
• The spectator as site
  

All this contained within a smorgasbord of contemporary and traditional forms and techniques. Now all we have to do is put in a draft proposal of our ideas for the Tropical Lab exhibition and of course execute those ideas in the following days. Each day just gets better and better. Great!!!!

Komal and myself are very impressed with La Salle, fantastic buildings and facilities and the staff are dedicated and approachable, we are so enjoying Singapore, I'm thinking I may stow away in a corner of a studio and stay for a long, long time :-D

Pulau Ubin, Day 2

Mourl and Komal set off onto the barely touched island of Pulau Ubin, just off shore. There they were greeted with bikes where they embarked on a grand tour of the nature and wildlife the island has to hold, looking back at the constanty developing main island of Singapore. Ubin is the last remaining site of villages or 'kampongs' and there are a hundred villages resident on the island. In the four hours that it took to explore it was as if we steped back in time. There were no real roads, just tracks, no electricity, few people to be seen on coastal areas. The only sign of modernity was a solar panel in the ruins of a demolished Buddist temple. Came back hot and dusty, cleaned up and then went to a lecture at La salle.

And so the adventure begins, Day 1

Met up with all other international participants outside our hostel G4 Station this morning at 9.45. We have come from all over the globe Dubai, Indonesia, Prague, Switzerland and of course us English (four of us in fact, two from a Uni in Winchester).

Met Singaporean tutors and fellow participants, had introductions, informal chats and snacks, tours around La Salle's glorious building and facilities, visited some very professional student exhibitions in the gallery spaces by La Salle people and Norwegian students. The Norwegian show was the result of a proposal put forward to La Salle and Tod (our Tutor for the project) encourages us to have a go and put in a proposal ourselves!We've had a very busy day.

Saw a show called Nebula at the Chapel Gallery in Sculpture Square. OM Mee Ai is a Korean artist based in Singapore. OM obtained Master of Fine Arts (Painting) at the LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore and Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) with High Distinction from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT), Australia. OM’s abstract paintings are mixture of multiplied grids and translucent colours that utilize a technique of complex and meticulous process of repetitive “taping, layering, and wiping” to assemble colour, texture, and improvised visual. It is a pure abstract painting in a form of post geometrical modernism (pictures and text taken from her Saatchi site: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Mee%20Ai+Om/66451.html)

Then very nearly walked all over the Island checking our art sites. Got back to G4 (our hostel) for a rest then straight out again to the opening of another show put on by some La Salle graduates in an old interesting space above a bar called Night and Day.

Landed in Singapore

Komal and Mourl have just Landed in sunny Singapore!
They can't wait to find out about their project Tropical lab and meet the other members of their group.

Going to Singapore!

Komal and Mourl are going to Singapore today! They can't wait to touch ground at Changi Intl airport, Singapore and begin their two week adventure starting at Lasalle College of Art.

One day to go!

Komal and Mourl flying to Singapore tomorrow. We think we have packed everything we may need but we can't be sure. Komal has to go to work this Saturday morning, but is excited to go into her mindless minimum wage job today as she will be thinking about where she will be this time tomorrow.

Komal and Mourl jetting off to Singapore in three days time!
Can't wait to explore the workings of Tropical Lab, connecting with the urban city and the rural in relation to our research.
Planning on visiting Singapore Botanic gardens and Sentosa Island.