CLOCKWORK MOON SERIES
ClockwoRk Moon (suspended time)
100cm x 100cm
Ink and incense-burned drawing on Korean paper, embroidery hoops, light, 2017
Commissioned by Singapore Art Museum, 2017.
This artwork is inspired by a group of ladies in Changi Women’s prison, who over several months in 2017 took part in workshops with Nicola Anthony inside the prison. They spoke about yearning for the future, the things they look forward to, and had an unwillingness to think about the current moment which for them is simply something to be endured. Whilst healing, redemption and learning can take place whilst they are ‘doing time’, it is also an incredibly difficult, confidence destroying and often heartbreaking period in which their time is not their own. The past can be painful or it can bring comfort - remembering loved ones, the luxury of having your own home, the simpleness of childhood, or the community spirit of the kampong in days gone by. The future is a very strong focus and although it brings fear of the unknown and the possibility of future failure, it is also looked forward to like it is a new life, a second chance, a rebirth. Most inmates did not want to say much about the present, except the things they were remembering or wishing for.
During the period of art-making together, the inmates opened up to tell their stories, or interact with growing trust. It is the individuals and their stories that inspired the sculpture, and the imagery was influenced by several ladies who envisioned themselves as flowers and their families as buds or seeds, a poetic way to express how important their family roots are in times of difficulty. Sometimes their families became trees - strong and offering support, hope, and love. Even within the dull confines of prison, their imaginations are blossoming with future opportunity and new wisdom learned..
The particular forms of leaf in the drawing are related to Indonesian shadow story traditions called 'Wayang Kulit', in which the leaf form is used to signify the scene changing or the story skipping to a different moment in time.