Hakym Noh is a self-taught photographer and film student.

His photography is about everyday life and his surroundings. “From this aspect, I try to show a state of mind, between boredom and pretty things,” he continues. “When my characters are not present, I photograph empty spaces, in which I try to portray feelings of  loneliness.”

“It Doesn’t Matter” is the title of Hakym’s 52-pages photo book showing a collection of images taken between January to November 2009. “I suggest you listen to post-rock instrumental songs while looking at this book, and you will understand the story,” he adds.

Hakym also has a vimeo site where you can check out his videos.

Frayn Yong Kian Ming is an amateur visual artist who recently graduated with a Diploma in Fine Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts. Prior to his fine arts training, Frayn also obtained a Diploma in Interior Architecture and Design.

In Fragile Structures -one of his earlier series of sculptures pieced together using mechanical pencil lead- Frayn explores underlying structures and frameworks in the urban context. “Like architecture, the notion of structures are fundamental to all constructs,” he adds. “They are the backbone to systems whereas on the other hand they can also be the network of human and human relationships, assuring the working of our daily lives.”

However to Frayn, even though these structures can give rise to magnificent forms, what we may perceive to be seemingly rigid, may in fact be very brittle and prone to collapse with a single touch. This state of fragility draws the permanence of existence and destruction so close only to be separated by a hair’s breadth.

In the recent LASALLE graduation show, Frayn exhibited a sculpture of a pencil lead skull alongside with a series of drawings titled Vanitas, meaning emptiness in Latin. “In this work, the fragile lead structures form into something we can identity as a human skull suggesting the temporal and corporeal state of mortality.”

Frayn also sees his sculptures as drawings seeking to transcend the flat surface of paper into 3 dimensional physical forms through the use of the same drawing medium (graphite) itself. These sculptures also seem to mimic computer-aided drawings blurring the boundaries of flat, physical and virtual space.

“I draw stuff. It’s all I’ve done, and loved doing, since I first saw my dad pick up a pencil and sketch out a cheetah for me.”

Eric Foenander has been illustrating, painting, and doing all things artsy fartsy since he was a 3-year-old toddler. His earlier years had him delve into, and focus on oils and acrylic. Since then, he has developed primarily into a digital artist, and Eric is now a full time illustrator/art director at Ogilvy & Mather and lead designer for Bedsty musicpartiesdesign. “I just wanna end up drawing stuff I wanna draw. For the rest of my life, really,” he adds.

“The above illustration, done for the AIDS awareness issue of Kult magazine, is an accompanying piece to help illustrate the fact that More than 6,000 people world-wide contract the virus every day,” Eric explains. “The different kinds of people shown that make up the blue sphere, inspired by the shape of the AIDS virus itself, show the range of people that the AIDS virus affects. The child’s face, centered, gives further emphasis that the AIDS virus does not extricate age.”

Che Xinwei is a student at the Raffles Institution (Junior College), year 6. She believes in irrational logic. “That is why I attempt to make art,” she says. “The world always seems to be in a constantly evolving state of flux. Art is a valuable means by which I hope to mediate with this large, dynamic universe that envelopes us. It does not have to be that abstract or lofty though. It could start from a simple pencil scrawling, a piece of string, or a coffee stain. I like to invent alternative realities. I like to think about the queerest things while observing the mundane, daily events.”

“Sight and touch are both senses from which we gather information about our daily surroundings,” Xinwei explains.  “With my work -Texturescapes- I want to make people aware of our acute dependence on visuals, as opposed to direct skin to material contact.

John Berger once said, “the sense of touch is like a static, limited form of sight”. Tactile information is also, in many ways, much more honest and much less premediated. These abstract images are constructed purely out of daily materials that we touch everyday. By highlighting their materiality I hope to highlight the huge chasm that exists between the sense of sight and touch.”

22-year-old ISME, is known to his friends and family for his intricate doodles. A graduate from NAFA with a Diploma in Visual Communication, ISME has been doodling for leisure, and professionally, and has been commissioned for numerous commercial engagements. “I hope that through my work, I can make people smile.”

Some of ISME’s achievements include the Suzuka Toy Custom exhibition in Indonesia; Top 5 spot in the Mitsubishi i-play competition; Tapestry 2007; The Big Draw 2009 and wall mural at Puma and Mimolette.

Darren Lee’s fashion film Remember definitely made my morning. I came across this beauty on Facebook and I felt that it was too good not to share.

Remember
He’s gone, but I still think of him. What he left behind evokes memories of his touch, his smell. I am torn between remembering him and forgetting him.

You should definitely put aside a couple of minutes to watch the video. Voting ends in two days, so click here and now!

Cherlin Chan, is a recent Design Communication Diploma Graduate from LASALLE, specializing in graphic. “I am a graphic designer who is not afraid to be bold with colors. I love the grid because it’s simple yet complex and I like to experiment with materials as a hobby,” Cherlin adds.

The featured process manual is Cherlin’s final year navigation system project for Singapore’s General Hospital. Cherlin explains: “The project seeks to provide a contemporary navigation system solution for literacy and disorientation issues faced by senior citizens. It also attempts to improve the atmosphere at Singapore General Hospital, and to create a better understanding of the location by applying a color code to each block, and labeling each location with a specially designed pictogram and alpha-numeric codes.The codes are also used on the signage and in a simplified leaflet. Large maps are placed at the entrance to engage interactivity, and colored walls will brighten up the environment to enhance the navigation experience.”

On Happiness is the result of a decade old argument between punk musician-filmmaker Kenny Png, and ivory tower scribe Jeremy Fernando,  put together by Michelle Andrea Wan. It is a (anti) self-help book for the terminally morose, and possibly even vaudeville entertainment for the opiated masses.

Composed mainly of two sections, the book pits a play written thirteen years ago by Png against a scathing close reading of its claims by Fernando. A combination of theatre, poetry, prose, a dose of academia, and a few poster-worthy caricatures, On Happiness attempts to address one of the most fundamental questions of modern life: can we empower ourselves to be happy, or is it always already beyond our control?

Of course, readers have the freedom to draw their own conclusions; or do they?

The book launch is scheduled for this Friday, 23 July, 7:30pm at BooksActually.