Yen Lin Teng is currently in her second year at NUS, majoring in either Literature or Theatre Studies. “I work mostly with paper and canvas, but I also do installation works dealing with lines, perspective, and space,” she continues. “In my work, I am mostly interested in the idea of lines. It seems to me that when one renders objects on paper in terms of a simple line drawing, all objects are reduced to one common factor: lines. What were once solid, stable objects become images to be played with and unraveled, shifted around and transformed. It also amazes me that lines, simple, weightless and unidimensional, can be used to create complex, multi-dimensional forms.”

Building Gulliver was inspired by what Yen Lin saw as similarities between lines and paper. “At that point in time (2008), I was exploring the ability of lines (one dimensional) to create through drawings two dimensional images, that could further convey three-dimensional forms. Concurrently, I was looking into paper architecture, and trying to tease out how simple cuts and folds could transform a piece of paper into a 3D presence. Building Gulliver was a response to these divergent threads, and a way for me to explore the intersection between 2D and 3D forms.”

Disposable Cities by Danielle Tay continues her reflection upon the tensions and harmony in cosmopolitan cities and urban landscapes. Inspired by her surroundings, Tay explores the notion of Singapore as a “disposable city” characterised by a sense of the impermanence and transience of buildings and structures in the country. The juxtaposition of lines and textures in her works may be viewed as representing a struggle to find balance in conflicting environments.

Born in 1990, Danielle recently completed her Diploma in Fine Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts. Working with paper as her main medium to create her works, she is especially intrigued by spaces and the environment around her. Her installations, a fusion of organic and structured elements that change and evolve according to each site, also question the formalist aspects of art. Having showcased her works at several exhibitions at LASALLE as well as the National Library of Singapore, Danielle will be pursuing her Bachelor in Fine Art at the Slade School of Fine Art, UK later this year.

6 through 25 Aug, 10am – 6pm at TriSpace, #B1-05, LASALLE College of the Arts. Admission is free.

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.

Qixuan Lim is a recent graduate from Nanyang Junior College, waiting to enter the NTU’s School of Art, Design, Media. “I am an aspiring illustrator who grew up on heavy dosages of Disney cartoons and Enid Blyton books,” she continues. “I also have a liking for rainy weather, animals and working with little children. I think young children can be so precocious these days, but they somewhat still have that sense of naivety and wide-eyed wonder that moves and inspires me. My love for creating alternative landscapes and painting little characters from imagination are spurned mainly from my love for fantasy stories and enchanting picture books. I have always been a slow reader and I still think words sometimes complicate matters. Up till now, I still jostle with little children in the libraries to get the prettiest picture book on the shelf.”

Qixuan’s paintings reveal an inner, almost private, landscape. They are not an avenue for escape, but rather an alternative reflection of reality. “I do not think my works should be categorized fully as fantasy despite their elements of wonder and somewhat fantastical subjects. They can sometimes show very real problems that exist in our societies and between people.”

Qixuan wants her paintings to tell a story or have a meaning, but she do not like the story to have a fixed interpretation. “My works tend to be narrative in a sense,” she continues, “but I prefer the stories not to come entirely from me. Sometimes I just throw something I painted to a friend and ask her what she sees in it. When you watch people trying to relate to the characters, seeing things from a different perspective, it helps you discover very amazing things about the human heart.”

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Whilst hundreds of iPhone fanatics last Thursday evening in were locked in deary, snaking queues at the iPhone 4 launch on our little island, one local magician Jack decides to provide a bit of street magic entertainment.

Watch this video yours truly had the luxury to be part of.

There is a rich heritage of graphic design in the various Olympic identities throughout history. Of particular mention are the exquisite identities for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, 1968 Mexico Olympics and the 1972 Munich Olympics.

To coincide with the inaugural Youth Olympics being hosted by Singapore, this month’s banner is Benjamin Koh‘s typographic tribute to the 1968 Mexico Olympics logo.

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.