“Collective Mourning”, we started off the exhibition with this as a title/theme/direction. The idea for this exhibition was initiated early 2022 by Kimberley and Silas, as we started talking about lived experiences and self dispositions through the pandemic; a disposition akin to being in a gray forest looking ahead through thick misty fog. The exhibition developed through 2022 as we reached out to Ajim, Ivan and Joanne, each with remnants of their own pandemic lived agreed to participate as a ‘collective in mourning’.

September 2022, as individual consciousness (subconsciousness), thoughts and feelings culminate into formed art works, we take a pause, a regroup to realise - we have stopped mourning. Reverting comfortably (albeit for some cautiously) into ways of living and being, as we once were; yet, shifting places either within ourselves, or in relation to the world in which we operate. An adjustment on the dichotomies of lived versus new experiences, and through time we are continuously introduced to our temporary selves.

Joanne’s series ‘Something Human Remains’ is a darkly comic take on celebrating our lost selves. To quote “Here lies who you once were.”, a seemingly dark work reminding us to acknowledge and celebrate who we continuously become. Kimberley was made to explore an uncomfortable self that had to relinquish control; positing the question ‘Is relinquishing control the closest to having control?’. Silas’s ‘Still Searching Aren’t We All’ a hindsight reflection on pushing through the internal chaos with self affirmation and recognising the truth of matters. Both Ajim and Ivan reflect on our shifting selves, the former anxiously and the latter in celebration.

We have stopped mourning, and will now take the time to readjust, calibrate who we are moving forward. Which selves do we hold onto, exchange, change, grow, progress, pause, stall, stop. Borrowing a quote from Ajim, ‘Aku Hanya Sebentar’.

sharmin parameswaran

collaborator | curator

This exhibition consists of;

Ajim Juxta

Ivan Gabriel

Joanne Loo

Kimberley Boudville

Silas Oo

AJIM JUXTA

AKU HANYA SEBENTAR

“gerbang, lembaga, wajah-wajah”

walau sementara, di halaman dunia

dan di perhentian hujung nanti

persoalan dan misteri takkan terungkai

yang tak dapat berpisah dan yang akan ditinggal

The realisation of ‘Aku Hanya Sebentar’ is not comfortable. The utterances of ‘time is short’, are mostly illusions or excuses to continue rushing through life.

Being an artist is not constant. Through ideals, ideas, energies, consciousness, art-making and its by-products, I hope, expect, anticipate seek continuous growth, which has to be earned.

Or, are we here only to celebrate the fact that everything is temporary?

I am anxious as ‘time is short’.

Dua Entiti by Ajim Juxta 2

IVAN GABRIEL

IMPERMANENCE

There is a tendency for people to seek permanence. When we know something lasts forever, it permits us a sense of security, whereas impermanence reveals our insecurities. Perhaps this is because we know that a lot of things in our lives are not permanent, and what we cherish might not last forever.

Heavily inspired by natural forms and composition, IMPERMANENCE celebrates the vulnerabilities and fragilities that stem from the sureness of change.

Tree Bark by Ivan Gabriel

JOANNE LOO

SOMETHING HUMAN REMAINS

Here lies who you once were.

These urns hold past selves that no longer exist. Its funereal presence speaks to the innate human yearning for things to remain as they were. While seemingly dark and mournful, each urn is punctuated with soft textures and celebratory-like gilding. The embellishments are a soft reminder of a hard truth: everything must change.

To honour the occurrence of self-death, while accepting that the self is constantly renewing. These urns are a reminder to acknowledge your current self; past, present, and future.

What Once Has Been by Joanne Loo

KIMBERLEY BOUDVILLE

MEETING CONTROL HALFWAY

“Suffering arises from trying to control what is uncontrollable, or from neglecting what is within our power” - Epictetus

These Series are an exploration of relinquishing control; that cannot be controlled. It is my inclination to seek, and to grasp at stability and order. However, life most often does not agree; and I cannot always make things happen the way I want.

You Will Live Forever dives into the act of besting mortality. Making artificial copies of a single butterfly, encased in resin to beat the odds of nature. The fragility of this creature is forever immortalised and reinforced, ‘living’ through time. Yet against the hard control of resin, nature’s process still breathes.

The Pillars symbolically bridge between man and the afterlife. The creation of each sculpture seals a fragile and delicate flower from earthly elements; stops it from vanishing, hidden and protected. Mortality has been immortalised, living and yet dead.

In Matrix, the series delves into human propensity to covet nature. Molten alloy forms carving out earth only to embed it within our civilised lives. Square concrete slabs confining organic beauty in an industrial cage.

Is relinquishing control the closest to having control?

You Will Live Forever 4 by Kimberley Boudville

SILAS OO

STILL SEARCHING, AREN’T WE ALL?

“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” - Albert Camus.

The turn of the century turned out to be much more challenging than I had anticipated. Time would reveal to me how unready I was to face certain circumstances; leading me through an exploration of chaos, addiction and pain. Sequentially pulling out, and pushing through with affirmation, stoicism and the truth of matters.

Encapsulated under the umbrella of my ever growing “Return To Form” series, these collections are ways of exploring a self constantly questioning and changing.

We Are The Walls Within Which We Confine. Of distant lockdowns. The same four walls every single day, closing in and drowning out; becoming a safe escape into nihilism, fantasy and addiction. These pieces were my way of ostracising delusion, a ritualistic cleanse of an insurmountable time-induced weight.

Feelings That Cannot Be Named. The preservation of skin was my way to capture humanity and its flaws; protected with skin both physically and egocentrically. Attempting to leave a negative headspace by exploring materials used in leather tanning.

Skin and Bones. A figure torn apart and reconstructed into artificial yet comprehensible shapes, highlighting the human mind’s propensity for simplification if intended. Human anatomy meets technical draftsmanship in representation of feelings not expressed.

Of Addiction and Heartbreak. Presented as a culmination of my exploration of both figurative anatomy, the mind and soul. The rib cage protects our heart and lungs, its importance in well-being underrated in-spite and/or because of form. Each piece is a mix of 3D printing and resin, emphasizing the importance of tangibility.

Feelings That Cannot Be Named X by Silas Oo

A Temporary Self / Aku Hanya Sementara runs from the 8th Oct - 6th Nov 2022

Saturdays & Sunday, 10am - 5pm at temu house