I first locked eyes on Chan Mei Hsien’s beautiful drawings when I browsed the Noise 2007 brochure. What makes her work so amazing are the delicately interlaced lines, traveling continuously within the boundaries of the paper.

Mei Hsien received her diploma in Fine Art (Printmaking) from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, and is currently freelancing in graphic design and portrait drawing. “I am a printmaker who likes to experiment with figurative lines in my prints and drawings. Drawing has always been an integral part in my art practice,” she says. “I started doing portraiture in 2004 with a print series titled Man In Crisis. The ‘Man’ in the title implies mankind in general -the white collar group- and my subjects have recently morphed into political figures. I also incorporate drawings with digital imaging to create graphic works.”

Of her work, titled Duo Crisis, Mei Hsien says: “I enjoyed the spontaneity and energy in the process of creating the artwork. I was led by a line focusing on the figures from the projection, removing all details from the background. The line runs continuously within the restricted space without a break. Humor is imperative and I draw with a touch of witticism, the confident, in my one-eyed man series. The work displays my fascination with lines – how they can transform into a drawing, especially in portraiture.”

Photograph courtesy of the artists.

One of the highlights of the M1 Fringe Festival 2009 (7-18 January) will be the Museum of Broken Relationships. Hailing from Croatia, Olinka Vištica and Drazen Grubišic originally started the Museum as an exhibition of various objects from their own lives which held meaning to their relationship, and the eventual breakdown of that relationship. Through the objects, accompanied by the personal stories of their donors, the artists attempt to create and preserve an international collection of our emotional heritage.

The Festival is putting out a call to everyone in Singapore to donate their own personal artifacts and stories of lost loves in the hopes of creating a Singaporean component of the Museum that will become part of the permanent collection and tour with the artists to various countries. Unlike ‘destructive’ self-help instructions for recovery from failed loves, the Museum offers you the chance to overcome any emotional collapse through art creation: contributing to the holdings of the Museum. By giving away these ‘controversial objects’ embedded with memories and emotions of the past, the artists hope to create a space for “secure memory” and “protected remembrance” through the preservation of our collective scarred emotional history.

To contribute to the Museum, please download the donation form or email info@singaporefringe.com. Deadline: 15 December.

The exhibition runs from 7 to 18 January 2009 at the Esplanade, Jendela Space. Admission is free.

Learn how to take your band to the next level as award-winning Music Arranger, Producer and Composer Mayuni Omar shares his expertise in the technical and business aspects of making music as a band. Participants will take away essential skills to making good music and advancing in the industry, such as communicating effectively with band members, sound balancing, songwriting, making a demo/album and how to market your music. There will also be some hands-on demonstrations during the workshop, so do feel free to bring your instruments! 7 Dec, 2-4pm at *scape Youth Centre: Lab. To register, email noise with the workshop title, your name, NRIC and contact number. Admisson is free.

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I have an insanely high drool-factor for Afton Chan’s collections, particularly on the men’s side. Afton is a recent graduate of The Raffles Design Institute with a B.Des. Fashion Design (Best Collection).

At just 21-years-old, Afton is now designing a capsule collection under the mentorship of Desmond Yang (Abyzz). “The collection consists of draped garments, pants with interesting silhouettes, as well as pieces that can be worn in more than one way,” she adds.

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The Proletariat Poetry Factory returns once again to The Other Side at 66 Rowell Road. Audiences are invited to come witness live poetry creation from servile poets out of old school ribbon typewriter while listening to a series of droning audio feed from the musos. Audiences are allowed to request and purchase poems too. This is a pay what you want event. 13 Dec, 2pm-4pm at The Other Side.

“Trainset Ghetto” is an urban landscape installation by Peter Feigenbaum.

Get your portrait drawn in 10 to 15 mins at the OIC Portrait Day. 5 Dec, 2pm-7pm at MAAD.

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Marily’s love affair with photography started when she was fifteen. “That’s when I received my first camera,” she says. “Four years later and I am still going strong. I am currently studying photography in Madrid. Last year I participated in a Noise internship with photographer Kheng Ju. I enjoy shooting with film cameras more than digital at times, but I still would not trade my Nikon D700 for anything in the world. I am particularly interested in Photojournalism even though I still like to explore the different fields of photography.”

About her photograph, Marily says: “This is a picture of my friends. They are in a band. I like the composition of this photograph and how each person brings a special element to it.”