September update
Here is an update about projects I have been involved over the last few months!
- In June, I was invited to the Arteles Residency in Hämeenkyrö (Finland). I was particularly excited to be in Finland in June to witness the long summer days (although technically, no midnight sun). The theme of the residency, “Back to Basics” allowed me to disconnect for a month. I worked on my sketchbook of contraptions, took walks, did some pinhole photography, looked at how the other artists works, and generally relied on serendipity to get stuff done . Link to my residency page
- On the 23rd of June, Windwalkers: Theo Jansen’s Strandbeest opened at the ArtScience Museum. I was invited to showcase my Backyard Lab in Conversation with Theo Jansen. Exhibited in that corner at the end of the show is a notebook of designs for solutions to imaginary problems. This often means machines that don’t work, among which my Bird-Activated Scarecrow, the Self-Tickling Machine and the Machine that Never Fails. If you haven’t been yet, I urge you to go and see Windwalkers : Theo Jansen’s Strandbeests exhibition at the ArtScience Museum as it is beautifully put together – I really enjoyed responding to it in my little showcase. If you have been, drop me a note to say how you’ve enjoyed it! On till 30th September.
- July France project: Têtes Flottantes. This year, I decided to spend more time in my home in France. It is a beautiful inspirational place, where I have only been coming for summer days over the last 18 years. Being a rural and remote place with forests, lake and empty fields as well as few people, it is in stark contrast with my usual living in urban Singapore, where it is summer all year round. February was the month I went for collecting willows to store for a summer project. But coming back in July, the focus became the lake and the Dame Jeanne bottles I had left the summer before. It turned into a balancing exercise. The result can be seen in the experimental video Têtes Flottantes.
- August: Camera Obscura at Night Fest (Peranakan Museum).
“ These Camera Obscura fit right into an early 20th Century Universal Exposition, or be associated with Jules Verne’s futuristic creations. Drawing on the aesthetics of “steampunk”, these installations utilise technology based on a classic 19th century toy – a device which produces an image through the use of a lens, translucent screen and bright light when surrounded by darkness.
The artist employs an old-fashioned and simple technology to create dialogues with the modern and fast-paced technology. While he latest gadgets are easy to use with spectacular results, we become blasé with them, having invested little time in them. At the same time, these “old technology” cameras are sure to provoke a “wow” and question “How come I see this, and how come I see upside down”? Interestingly, the technology is simple enough to be understood, and can easily be taken apart and put back together – unlike a smartphone!”
- September: Travelling Camera Obscura . The cameras have now been moved to the Blue House International School, starting on their “Tour De Singapour” journey. The plan is to place these cameras in different strategic places over Singapore for a few weeks at a time, and record how they get received by the public. Both as objects, tools, and artworks. For their first stop, the children of the school will be invited to propose modifications that can improve the cameras, as part of the Observatoire@Blue House residency programme.
Isabelle Desjeux 