Tan Jun Yuan is a fresh off BA Industrial Design from the National University of Singapore.  The featured work titled -A Vase is a Hiding Place- is Jun Yuan’s vase definition developed during a workshop organized by Hans Tan Studio, where “vase” was chosen as the subject to be reconceptualized.

Jun Yuan about his work: “My work is a  series of x-ray prints which tell the story of a person using his vase to hide various things in the different stages of his life – from youth to middle age (when he was caught having an affair). The statement, “A vase is a hiding place” is my take on the reconceptualization of the notion of a vase.

Yap Yong Hwang is currently studying in junior college. She hopes to become an architect one day, and build things that are both practical and have aesthetic value. “I spend most of my time being fairly weird, and the rest catching up on sleep.”

Eat With Family is a conversation between artist and family; paint and food, and how they (people, food and art) all come together. Yap Yong explores how staples in family meals play a role in fostering inter-personal relationships between different members of a family. By portraying different grains, she aims to explore various grains and their personal meanings, as well as allow viewers to reflect on what various grains mean to them.

Nur Liyana Ali has been pursuing the arts since she was 14. Her love for materials is evident in all her works. Nur Liyana is currently pursing her BA(Hons) Fine Arts at LASALLE College of the Arts. She specialises in paintings, sculptures, drawings and installations.

“In this fast paced world, one may overlook things such as materials, especially fiber and other mass-produced materials as we tend to take them for granted. In the process of making this artwork -titled Pedicle Reeds- I tried to understand the physical limits of these materials by pushing them to their breaking points, while working within the boundaries of their limitations. This action-based process thus creates an intimacy towards the materials.”

Lum En-Ci aka Luca graduated from Nanyang Junior College’s AEP programme last year, and will be pursuing a degree at NUS, postponing her education in the Fine Arts. “I am especially interested in exploring ideas involving human perception, intimacy, language, the otherworldly, and the mundane.”

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Berny Tan‘s relationship with art is a complex one; “I love art but I wouldn’t call myself an artist nor do I aim to be one,” she explains. “I do enjoy art-making (especially printmaking and photography), and when I make art I find myself drawn to architectural, repetitive qualities of urban and industrial elements. Growing up in the city, these surroundings have become my personal contemporary definition of beauty.”

“My two loves are art and writing, and I would like to pursue curating in future. I am going to start my first year at the New York School of Visual Arts this fall semester, to do a BFA in Visual and Critical Studies – it combines studio art with art history/theory/criticism.”

The featured photograph is part of a series of five photos called ‘Sub-Urban. “When one thinks of an urban environment, one imagines the gleaming skyscrapers of a modern city, much like the recognisable skyline of Singapore’s Central Business District,” Berny explains. “One would never recall what is unfinished, industrial, unsightly, old, or abandoned – a construction site, wooden crates, graffiti, peeling walls, and a derelict bus stop. Yet, they are present all around us, and have their own unique “architectural” elements. This series of black-and-white digital photographs seeks to highlight the dynamic lines, forms and textures of scenes that lie on the perimeters of urban Singapore. Each one speaks of ongoing or impending decay, demolition and disfiguration; the poignant deconstruction of construction.”

Click here to see the other works in the series.

LASALLE graduate, Ezekiel Wong Kel Win left his home country Malaysia for an education in Singapore at age five. Trained in the faculty of Fine Arts (Painting), Kel Win’s works highlight conflicts, confrontations, and questions he has about life.  “I use a comical aspect to give my work a twisted view, and mock the reality of the real world. I often use photography, video and pastel colors, to express imaginary illustrations in my head and reactions to my surroundings,” he adds.

Kel Win’s latest work titled Everyone is a propagandist? was showcased at the 2010 LASALLE Show: “The human tongue is the most powerful weapon that symbolizes speech and it is a restless evil, filled with deadly poison that no human being can tame,” Kel Win explains. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, it is the one of the causes of many conflicts, which happen as a result of someone’s expression through the tone in their speech or the way they craft their words. It is just easily prone to manipulation. As for other non-verbal communications such as our body language, eye contact and facial expressions, I consider them to be processes that will trigger the tongue to speak.   In my work, I am dealing with the many different types of sayings about the tongue – such as, “Speak of the Devil”. It is through these sayings or proverbs that we can describe or classify how a person speaks, and it can also be a reminder to the individual to think before saying anything. Hence, speech is indeed influential and is also easily prone to manipulation. Now, what is the main instrument to create speech? It is through the use of our tongue? By illustrating different kinds of sayings and sayings of my own, I hope to show how the human tongue has the power to influence people.”

Khatija Aslam is a  recent graduate from the Industrial Design course at NUS, who enjoys studying cultures and human behaviors to translate them into meaningful designs. “Combining human intuition with practicality gives more spirit to a product and that is something I always try to achieve in my designs in order to enable people to relate to them better,” she adds.

“My design -titled Dine Away- is inspired by the mundane and inflexible dining patterns of students living in halls and dorms away from home,” Khatija explains. “Dine Away serves as a portable dining kit that allows the flexibility of expanding your dining space anywhere, anytime with a meaningful one step unfolding experience.”

(Con)Front is the culmination John Clang’s years of living in New York City, interspersed with an intense travelogue in pursuit of work and global experiences. Moving his base to NYC in 1999 was not just a challenge and feat, it was a brave attempt in trying to shape his future and career as a photographer.

Being in a foreign country, the exhibition expounds on his experience and response to his immediate urban environment.

“More than a personal exhibition, (Con)Front tackles both the conscious and unconscious and expressing it to the extent of baring one’s soul. On the contrary, it is interesting to note the simplicity of John’s works often dupe people into thinking it is created instantaneously without much effort,” says Gwen Lee, exhibition curator and founding partner of 2902 Gallery.

“I pride myself on being a Singaporean artist at heart. Thus, it has always been my desire to share and exhibit my works in Singapore,” quips John. “I am also honored to have my personal works represented by 2902 Gallery for the very first time alongside fellow Singaporeans.”

In all, there will be forty photography prints, of which twenty five new works created in 2010 for this major solo exhibition. While most of his works can be viewed on John’s website, five new works with a video projection will be unveiled at the opening reception, 11 June at 7pm.

(Con)Front opens today and runs through 3 July at 2902 Gallery.