Zouk teams up with Singapore Art Museum (SAM) to showcase Singapore’s cutting-edge contemporary artists at Zoukout 2009.  Catch live art installations by KILAS (KEEP IT LIKE A SECRET) & ZERO, art installations Lollipop B’Lust by dmr (DitchMyRoutine), and Flirting Point by Vertical Submarine, recipient of the coveted President’s Young Talents 2009 Credit Suisse Artist Residency Award. 12 Dec, 8pm to 8am at Siloso Beach, Sentosa.

Japanese Artist Fumie Sasabuchi reworks the pages of fashion magazines and deconstructs the perception of a perfect physique and plays a lot with the subject of death. She uses this tool to freely explore an underlying surface, therefore creating hybrid body images in which promotional aesthetic is fused with material naturalistic anatomical study. Fumie Sasabuchi comments on how our skin naturally protects our body.Via.

Click to zoom in.

For their 17th issue, the folks at FL.ag invited writers, graphic designers, illustrators and photographers to create works focused around World Aids Day. I am listing one of my favorites, a photograph by 22-year-old freelance writer, aspiring photojournalist and part-time student, Wong Casandra.

“This was shot in my bathroom. I bought a doll and miniature milk bottle from Ang Mo Kio for five dollars. The red liquid was made from an impromptu mixture of anything that I could find in the kitchen (and bathroom) and it turned out pretty foul-smelling. I had to make sure that the liquid was thick enough to stay put. For the faint word, AIDS, on the floor, I used milk powder and took the picture when it was half-dissolving to create an additional subliminal message – Aids is indeed corrosive.”

On why she chose to shoot it this way, Casandra says: “While there’s a lot of emphasis on practising safe sex so that one will not be at risk of having Aids, there’s less emphasis on what happens if one contracted Aids, gets pregnant and unfortunately, harms the future generation in more than one way or another – be it causing the child to contract HIV/Aids or suffering from unnecessary discrimination because of one’s medical condition. I think it’s unfair to make a mistake that might indirectly affect your child – since he/she doesn’t have any say or choice in it. While your body is yours for harming, do make sure that you suffer the consequences, and not your innocent unborn child. ”

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BooksActually presents ON BEING, a dialogue series featuring visionaries who discuss their lives, influences, and art. Moderated by Dr. Gwee Li Sui. Speaker is Troy Chin, the author/graphic novelist of “The Resident Tourist” series. 11 Dec, 19:30-21:00 at BooksActually. RSVP  at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=218877317811&ref=mf

Photograph courtesy NAFA. Click image for close-up.

28-year old Abdillah Bin Supangat completed his ITE studies and went on to further his education after his national service. Material exploration of newspaper infused with a structure to make a piece of furniture was the motivation behind the Lore Stool design. “It was a simple exercise that challenges to solve the problem of stability and structure,” Abdillah explains.

Abdillah’s design was showcased at NAFA’s ‘after2-material X’ exhibition (19-28 September), featuring fifteen furniture prototypes made from found materials.

For those who missed the official launch of Like Fins for Feet, an all-ages picture book published under the First Time Writers and Illustrators Initiative, this evening is for you. Not so much a book launch as it is a reason for Perry Ho and Kristal Melson to meet friends and strangers alike before the year draws to a close.  Also available at this event will be original drawings and selected merchandise. 12 Dec, 4pm at BooksActually.

Beautiful photography by 20-year old British photographer, Harley Weir.

Click Image to watch the video.

Starting off as an Interactive Media Designer at Nanyang Polytechnic, 21-year-old Ridz Aidil Tan (aka art.brat), majored in web applications involving interactivity and simple animations. “My lecturer Ms. Tina believed in my eye for movement, so I branched out as a Motion Graphics and Broadcast Designer,” Ridz adds. “I always admired those animations on Cable TV in which graphics take to the air, moving around in 3D space. It gave me the passion to bring life into static graphics, transforming my designs into works full of energy filled with dynamics.”

Ridz shot the ‘Wake Up Call’ video for the 2007 Noise Singapore MTV Shoot and Snip. “The theme was HIV and AIDS, and involved creating a 30-second video clip showing what it meant,” he continues. “The video was aired on MTV Asia throughout the month of December, in conjunction with the MTV’s Staying Alive Campaign in support of World AIDS Day.”