Noise Singapore 2012: A Showcase For Local Art Noise

Say what you may about the "lack of art expression" in Red Dot Island, and Red Dot Diva has found herself more willing to beg to differ. Especially in the last 2-3 years.

The art scene has been visibly flourishing in recent years. More commercial art galleries have been setting up shop here. And undoubtedly, the current generation - who have been exposed to a wider level of international influences - are more willing to break free from the shackles and expectations of the usual progression of stable career = success.

Even if more arts-liberal folks may deem the local platforms of art expression to be "government-funded" (or, in another words - censored), Red Dot Diva feels that the amount of promotion and support available in our small island-city is quite substantial. And to have any amount of support for art expression is far better than none. There are worse places to be in where one cannot even get on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or speak one's mind in at least - a humanely responsible manner.

It was during one bland, run-of-the-mill lunch hour, when Red Dot Diva somehow stumbled upon a mini art exhibition at B4 of ION by accident. "Ooh! Pretty Colours!", she first thought. A quick check around and she found out that it was part of the Noise Singapore 2012 Showcase.

Beautiful art on display

The 2-metre glass panels. Qiqi second from right!

Then, she spotted acquaintance Ziqi Wu's artwork for Qiqi (Monster Little). One of his pieces was showcased as an eye-catching 2-metre tall glass panels around the display area (see pic above). Way to go, Ziqi!

But drats! Before Red Dot Diva could enjoy the other creative and energetic local artworks more fully, lunch time was over.

Red Dot Diva *had* to return for a second visit. So, armed with her trusty camera, she was back at B4 ION the next day for a deeper art-indulgence.

She found all kinds of genres and styles in this mini art world - graphic illustration, street art, surrealistic, pop art, portraits.... It was wondrous to behold! And a great visual escape from the drudgery of office desk work.

one of the art pieces from "Once Upon A Day" by Elizabeth Sutrisna

There was a set of art pieces by Elizabeth Sutrisna quite prominently on display called "Once Upon A Day" which was very pretty to look at. They had a kinda Pixar-like feel to them too. Don't ya think? (see pic above)

Dreaming of working with Pixar ("Ray Ong")

On a round table-booth within the area were a few sketch journals by young artists consisting of text, doodles and imaginative drawings about their life and dreams. Red Dot Diva browsed through a couple of them and found the comics-style art by "Ray Ong" to be particularly entertaining. There were a few pages where Ray was telling the story about her first-ever visit to Pixar studios. (PS: Red Dot Diva nosed around and found the blog of "Ray Ong" aka Notches online. Check it out here!)

Tiny-mini sushi!

Also absolutely intriguing was a set of photos showing a kind of micro-art aptly named "The World's Smallest Sushi"! They were all made from a grain of rice and added with tiny embellishments like little shrimps, fish and roe. Amazing work by Dave Seah, Hwee Chong Chan, Jody Yeoh and Lai Choon How. Check out a video on the making of "The World's Smallest Sushi on Jody's blog!

Eunice Lim's Screwords

At a corner on the other end, Red Dot Diva spotted Screwords. Now, now. Before one gets more pervy thoughts about what this is, these pieces of mixed-media art by Eunice Lim actually stood out from the more traditional art works there.

She had her own exhibit area with a book that had segments of the painted art on each page cut out to revealing hints of the art on the following page. It was like an artistic matryoshka -- in paper story-telling form. Totally fascinating!

Just nearby, was a wall with drawings from various artists and one could choose and pick up a tab or "smile" from that particular art piece. In return, you were encouraged to leave a sticky tab with a message of appreciation for the artists whose worked you liked. Red Dot Diva thought that was a nice touch of social interaction.

Besides art and drawings, there was also space dedicated to photography. Red Dot Diva wishes she had a similarly good camera eye herself. They were very inspiring. To encourage even more self-expression, there was a panel next to it called "iPhoneography", where a slew of photos snapped with that ubiquitous Apple gadget was put up on display.

And if one wanted to get their hands creating something, you could draw and create your very own art on blank canvas bags. Red Dot Diva saw a few ladies totally absorbed with ink-stamping and making their own canvas bags when she was there.

From the info booklet that she picked up, Red Dot Diva also noticed that there were other art forms which were being promoted at Noise Singapore. For instance, the local music scene was being showcased at the Esplanade last week too. Maybe, Red Dot Diva would also catch up with da tunes for near year's Noise!

Red Dot Diva's Noise Singapore postcard stash!

All in all, it was heartening to see so many young artistic people opening up their hearts and souls to the public through Noise Singapore. And Red Dot Diva hopes that this outlet would help to build their confidence, get connected to people who matter and continue to make more awesome Art Noise!