“We are dealing with some serious matters” is an exhibition presented by art collective dmr (ditchmyroutine).

Made up of three individuals from diverse backgrounds, Suhirman bin Sulaiman, Deb Tan and Ryf Zaini, use various mediums to challenge social, political and personal boundaries. Using a playful approach to deal with serious matters, while diverting from the subject,  dmr is interested in amusing the viewer, allowing them to see things in a fresh perspective.

Inspired by the 1965 toy game Barrel of Monkeys, “We are dealing with some serious matters” is a fun and colorful installation which features 100 hand painted wooden monkeys that hang suspended from the high trusses of LASALLE College of the Arts. Like the game, where the player who successfully creates the longest chain of monkeys wins the game, this barrel of monkeys -pun intended- interact, mingle and put aside their differences to support each other in this concrete jungle.

On view at LASALLE College of the Arts (Block E, Level 1) till 12 June.

It’s difficult not to get lost in this 23-year-old’s whimsical, quixotic and somewhat mischievous lines of imagination. With clients such as adidas, MTV, Ministry of Sound and Intel even (they did a TV commercial with her, imagine that), it is safe to conclude that we aren’t the only fans of such vivid expression of creativity.

Sheryo Ang’s most recent work was for A Nice Set Singapore. Check it out and vote for her if you fancy her submission.

Click to view the installation.

We love guerilla artwork here at Culturepush, so we feel duty bound to tell you about JJ’s Post-It-Note project. Compulsive doodler, copywriter and optimist, JJ, decided to start his project, with the distinct purpose of affecting the people around him, leaving a trail of words and drawings in public places around Singapore.

“Things We Forget came about 108 days ago, on January 15, 2009,” JJ explains. “The agency I used to work with, did a lot of work with the makers of Post-it notes and I would always have stacks of them lying around. I was getting tired of the pessimism that was weighing everybody down. It started off as a tiny little initiative, but now it a labor of love for me. I write, draw, place and shoot. I do one Post-it a day, come rain or shine. And it is my intention to do so for as long as I can. The response I get from people who chance upon the Post-it notes, the comments on the blog itself, and on the facebook and twitter accounts that I maintain tell me that they have an impact, no matter how small, on peoples’ lives. And I really feel blessed to have an opportunity to do that.”

“My Monstrous Heart” is Julienne Tan’s final year project for her bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the School of Art, Design and Media. The collection of five illustrated books is a response to Julienne’s experience, meeting and working with abused children. “A monstrous heart is big, but it is also the heart of a monster; monstrous love is high and noble but empty,” Julienne adds. “That is the kind of love I had for them at first, when child abuse was nothing but an abstract world issue. Through a series of books about getting to know each child as an individual, the monstrous heart shrinks to fit into the palm of a child’s hand. This kind of shrunken love is not at all lofty, but is practical, personal, and handheld.”

The books are handmade and can be seen starting 11 June at 2902 gallery, as part of the ADM satellite graduation show. 

Berlin’s Papergirl project founded by the original Papergirl, Aisha Ronniger, bring art to the public in a different way from normal; to surprise people and bring them into contact with art in their everyday life.

Djulian and Jovian are a duo of photographers that make up Oats & Sparkle.

PHILOSOPHY

we are currently starting with so little, near to nothing;
we don’t have much to lose,
we aren’t quite afraid of making mistakes.

we just make sure that the mistakes we make
each time are different, beautiful ones.
and if we don’t, at least we tried.

Click for more images.

Wanqi and Jaslyn recently graduated  from the Temasek Design School.  Wanqi has a passion for graphic design and illustration. Jaslyn majored in Illustration, loves doodling, and is convinced that design is the love of her life.

“Look and Find” is a set of well rendered, super detailed advertising posters with a direct message.  Wanqi explains: “The challenge was to attract people from the design industry to attend the school’s design graduation showcase. It’s like selling ice to Eskimos. We brainstormed on what designers love: fun, humor, interactivity, colors, etc. Keeping in mind to promote the graduating students in the school, we came up with the concept of letting the audience spot the slackers among crowds of hardworking students. Our idea was to let the audience stop and look through the posters.”

When company signs and logos are taken down, they get demolished. Character, a Finnish company,  recycles them into individual design objects. They dismantle the letters, clean them up, add a new transformer, LED lights and the power cord, and put them back together.