Plural, the online art magazine, reviews my artwork ‘Closing the Distance’, which was part of the exhibition ‘The Quarantined Canvas’.

Click here for a link to the online article or scroll down for a plain text version.

You can view the virtual exhibition here.

THE QUARANTINED CANVAS

July 15 - August 6 Free

“The Quarantined Canvas” encompasses five artworks created during the COVID 19 lockdown by three artists connected through Singapore but respectively living in Ireland, Yangon and Singapore. Nicola Anthony was based in Singapore for seven years before moving to Dublin, Bart Was Not Here completed a Bachelor in Fine Arts at Lasalle School of the Arts, Singapore and Pang is Singaporean. The artworks express feelings and reflections inspired by this unprecedented crisis.

“Closing the Distance”, by Nicola Anthony, consists of two series of Fine Art Giclee Prints, one with a coloured background and one with a white background, based on a text drawing which was made during the lockdown period.

This artwork is about the distance and isolation we have all experienced, it is hopeful about getting back to normality, and it is also about anti-racism and equality. The original piece is drawn with ink pen, and every mark is an alphabet character.

Nicola Anthony’s drawings with letters seek to show the complexity and richness of multi-layered stories that exist within all people. The form takes its starting point from previous works with the ouroburus shape, an eternal cycle which hints at life, death and rebirth. It also speaks of metamorphosis and change, interconnection and balance, and the continual reconceptualizing of the universe and the world around us.

Being locked down in her studio Nicola got quite obsessed with her own hands- one of her only live models. In hindsight she thought there is also the influence of her personal focus on washing hands, obsessively being aware of any finger that had touched an outside surface, being conscious she could not touch anyone else.

Also during this time many inequalities were shown up by the pandemic, including the greater risk for disadvantaged communities, minority communities, and foreign workers, both in Singapore and around the world. Then the murder of George Floyd shocked the world on top of this turmoil of events and emotions we had been living through.

Nicola Anthony’s work is about holding space for people who we may perceive as different from ourselves, finding commonalities, understanding and empathy. Nicola decided to make the hands in opposite colours, to inspire the idea of kinship, that those who appear different from us are not so different at all.

Bart Was Not Here’s artworks created in isolation encompass one painting and one print of a pen drawing digitally coloured. Bart ‘s artistic practice is dictated by his playful attitude and his paintings are inspired by comics, movies and music. Bart cannot think of a life without drawing and the lock down instead of stopping his creativity inspired him.

“On a Gloomy Day” was created to be the cover of Htet’s new album “The H is Silent”, which was launched at the beginning of the lockdown. It is a painting based on Bart’s usual cartoon imagery but with a darker palette than the one he usually cherishes.

“Solitude” is a drawing in the same style as Bart’s successful God Complex series which was presented in a sold-out show at Myanm’art, Yangon, in 2018. It is a print series of a pen drawing on paper, digitally coloured.

“The Present” is an altered book artwork, which was created during Singapore’ s circuit breaker. Visual artist, poet and art therapist, Pang often starts his day with “blackout poetry”.

An altered book is an existing book changed into an artwork by alterations such as cuttings, collages, drawings, paintings. It can also consist of creating an altered text by covering or highlighting certain words of phrases with a felt marker or pen. Although this practice can be considered disrespectful or wasteful in some socio-economic contexts, it is a very old practice, which can be traced back to the 11th century when Italian monks recycled old vellum manuscripts.

In art therapy, creating altered books is a precious technique which is less intimidating than a blank canvas for people with no artistic experience or sensibility. The book is used as a canvas and its content works as a catalyst for the creation of a new meaning and a new piece of art.

The book symbolizes knowledge, learning, wisdom, both the universe and self. Re-authoring a book that already exists symbolizes the parallel possibility to rewrite one’s own life.

Featured Image : Closing the Distance by Nicola Anthony, Fine art Print, limited edition of 50, 2020.