Open Offering 1
Art Outreach (hearth)
By Fiona Amanda
This exhibition centres around reconstructing this shed in the [hearth] art space, an act of re-spatializing the tree- shed relationship. To this extent, the exhibition comprises 3 main parts. The first part is an exhibition of the shed, accompanied by a showcase of the fortnightly documentation done over the course of 45 weeks. The shed’s leaf-littered surroundings will undergo a sort of recreation, with the help of willing visitors who may hole-punch “leaflets” out of cardboard. These “leaflets” constitute a base material for the final part of the offering - compost for the tree.
The first thing I noticed when I walked into the gallery are the small bamboo stalks that were intentionally organised to look like grids on the whole floor of the exhibition. The atmosphere of the space was calm and cozy, and I was greeted by the artist, John Chew. The installation consist of a life sized shed made out of bamboo situated in the middle of the space, with bamboo stools and shredded cardboard. It was interesting to see the contrast between a huge organic structure amongst the white minimalist walls of the exhibition. As the artist walked us around the space for a tour, there was a good flow throughout the whole exhibition.
Responding to a Delonix Regia Tree that was reaching out to a footpath in Kent Ridge, Chew constructed a shed to highlight the unique relationship between the tree and its surroundings. Offering shelter to passersby, the work aims to prompt reflection and foster a connection with the tree. The principle which informed the position and design of the shed was that points towards a tree, serving as a fixed "ruler" against which we are able to pay attention to the tree’s growth and change. By marking important point on the CAD-drawn map and a plumb-line-pulley system, a triangle is formed that describes the position of the shed in relation to the tree using faithful mark-making, representations and materials.
Using hole punchers, participants can punch out small "leaflets" from the materials provided. These leaflets are similar in size and shape to the ones from the actual tree, making up in some way for the nearness of the tree from the shed. The hope is to provide an accessible way to participate in art-making, as well as an embodied act to think about deeper ideas such as subjective attention, non-human labour, accumulation and time. These recycled leaflets will be collected and used in the final part of this project, which is to make compost for the tree. This is a final act of giving back to the tree, whose soil's nutrients have been affected by past construction.
Overall, I am satisfied with the exhibition from its presentation to the experience. The exhibition is an open invitation for others to partake in this ongoing relationship, and in the process, to share the joy of connecting with members of urban nature. I enjoyed the tour and conversations with the artist as I got to learn more about his thought process and art making. I look forward to ArtOutreach SG to bring in more artists with diverse art practice beyond fine arts.