Tan Peiling graduated from Nanyang Technological University, School of Art, Design and Media with a major in Photography and Digital Imaging. She has a strong interest in examining how spaces affect human experiences. Using the relationship between sound and visual image as a primary inspiration, her work usually requires audience participation and interaction.

Peiling about her work: “Your Voices Fill The Void In My Mind is a multi-media installation derived from an interest in examining how auditory memories are remembered, and its effect on visual imagination during the recollection. By attempting to find out how voice memories aid in visual recall, I asked my family members to recall individual voices of one another and the visual imageries that were brought about during the voice recollection. These images and voices were then recorded and re-interpreted into the installation piece, projected into a custom space.”

“The piece was inspired from previous interest in attempting to visually depict different sounds that a group of hearing impaired desire to hear. Approaching the project with the intention of creating a multi-sensory experience for them, I created a multi-media installation titled First Sound, using a custom vibration device and a video projection to simulate hearing experience. The piece is intended for people to touch the vibration caused by sound while experiencing the video, so that they can both ‘see’ and ‘feel’ the sound concurrently.”

Having graduated from Nanyang Technological University, Saraphina Ching works mostly with illustrations, photographs and text, at times incorporating other forms of mixed media. Books, films, music and everyday life are some of the things that inspire Saraphina in her creative process. “Though photography is my major, I do not solely depend on it as my main medium. I see photography as a form of narrative, a tool which aids in my storytelling. In fact, photographs can be moving images or part of an illustration or even play the role of a fading memory; simply put, it can be part of anything,” she adds.

Seraphina also likes to write, and her stories often revolve around themes such as fading memories, dreams, nightmares, childhood and death.

“Of Clockwork Hearts, is a mixed media installation around such themes. Therefore, the stories are essentially important and play a major role, for they make up the melody, while the rest of the media acts as the accompanying rhythm and beat.”

Saraphina has exhibited her works in various group shows such as Variegated Realities, at Alliance Francaise in 2010; PEEK, a pre-Japan show at 2902 Gallery and similarly at the Month of Photography in Tokyo, 2008. She has also participated in the Pameran Poskad 2008 and 2010 show. Her short film, Snip Snip, was awarded a bronze at The Crowbar Awards 2007.

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.

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.”

Evan Lau is a multimedia designer currently working for the Singapore Media Academy,  a subsidiary of MediaCorp Pte Ltd. Besides his usual work in producing various design collaterals from print to web, Evan enjoys the new visual possibilities of mashing up his graphics and photographs.

‘Electricity’-featured above- is an artwork themed with fantasy, nature and technology. “I have a fascination with cities in the sky,” Evan explains. “Electricity is my rendition of that, and is a mash up of my own photos and stock images.”

Nathalie Théry is a half-French half-Singaporean concoction, who recently graduated from Temasek Polytechnic with a diploma in Visual Communication, majoring in Photography. “I focus mainly on fashion photography, but I also love to shoot food and products,” says Nathalie. “I started sketching and designing in secondary school,  but I soon realized that I liked capturing the fashion that was in my head, versus sewing up the garment. At that time my brother was doing photography for gigs at various clubs. I got interested and decided to merge my interest in fashion with photography. I also like to style my own shoots when time permits.”

For her final year project, Nathalie put together a lovely photographic project and a concept magazine to boot. The publication titled Wonderer, carries beautiful content from Nat’s shutter around three themes: Perpetual,  The Asylum and Native Spatiality. We’ve put up a couple of images for your viewing pleasure.

Nathalie set off to Melbourne last month to do her BA in photography at RMIT. You go girl!

One site,  two iconic buildings. The City Hall and former Supreme Court buildings are home to the memories of our nationhood and the recollections of our people. Come 2013, these grand buildings will be transformed into an exciting new visual arts venue, The National Art Gallery, Singapore.

To commemorate the break of a new era in Singapore’s art scene, The National Art Gallery, Singapore invite all budding photographers into these historic spaces for one last time. Take part today. Be part of history. Be part of the future.

More details can be found here.

All entries are to be submitted to:

The Photographic Society of Singapore
Selegie Art Centre
30 Selegie Road
Singapore 188351

Office Hours : (Mon to Fri) 2.00 pm to 10.00 pm
(Sat to Sun) 12.00 pm to 6.00 pm

Roy Wang began his Fine Arts training at age 3, but it was only in the past 5 or 6 years that he started experimenting with Photography and Graphic Design.” I think no matter what I do, I look at incorporating different realms together, because I believe fundamentally art is a form of universal passion and expression, and bringing these different principles together does allow for innovation and the element of the ‘unexpected’ in conveying what I want to say,” Roy adds. “Currently majoring in Visual Communications does allow me, in a lot of ways, to  bring forth design principles to my Art concepts, inspiring a more liberal approach and a spirit of nonconformity in producing my work.”

Fantasies of a Concrete Jungle is a series of ten photographs exploring the societal conflict between technology, the human race and nature.

Roy explains: “Societies progress and embark on more technological exploits, and nature has to pay price, and one wonders if we will  get to experience this natural warmth of beauty tomorrow. This is especially so for city dwellers like us, surrounded by a concrete jungle.  For my work, I am using a futuristic, fantastical and imaginative approach, which I guess is pretty childlike and vulnerable in many ways. The piece questions whether nature, in the future, would exist simply as a fantasy or a constructed fragment of our history.”