Let's Go On a Merry Go Round

Participating Artists:
Arron Teo | Diana Chong
EeShaun | Eunice Lim
Fong Kum Choon | Hambali Hanafiah
Kaz Orii | Nadhir Zainal
Ng Kuan Shin | Valerie Ng

1 – 30 November 2013

From now through 30 November 2013, Mulan Gallery will present Let's Go On a Merry Go Round, a group exhibition showcasing a body of new works that are made especially for this curatorial thread -
Every day brings fresh beginnings and new sets of possibilities. It is an embarkation that begins with one's pursuit of fulfilling aspiring dreams. Life is a perplexity, replete with a myriad of intangible elements – complexity of the accelerated and complicated world, culture differences, hardships, man-made constraints, perceptions, expectations and so on. Amidst all the intensity, there certainly are positives if the focal point is intended on discovering them, consider the positives.

A collaborative fruition between 3 artists who graduated from Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore (NAFA) at different time periods - Arron Teo, Boo Sze Yang and Clayrene Chan. Shot in a factory based in Kluang, Malaysia, owned by Clayrene's father. Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be) reveals a dichotomy between the popular old adage of "art can't feed you, art is useless." and the relentless will to pursuit one's lifelong dreams in spite of facing possible pragmatic threats in this community. Would it be a fairytale dream turned into a reality or will she hum along to the tunes of Que Sera, Sera as she takes up the reins of her patriarch's business?

Soh Ee Shaun is a self-taught Singaporean artist and illustrator. His artistic spheres are experiments in abstraction, humor and improvisation. The aesthetics of his oeuvres are inspired and influenced largely by surrealism and illusion in his subconscious.

Diana Chong's water colour drawings of safari animals in Africa are works of individual autonomy. The figurative imagery in these endearingly painted and extraordinarily detailed wildlife species evince an intensified push of the artist's contact with tracts of wilderness.

Eunice Lim has always been intrigued with human relationships and narratives in culture. She researches into social conditionings in context to systems that influence culture; translating her studies into collages, drawings and paintings.

Fong Kum Choon Fong's development of interest in photography was stemmed after forming photographic club for scouts in a local secondary school. He is particularly interested in portraiture of ethnic tribes and travel photography in Asia.

Hambali Hanafiah is a 3rd year student at Glasgow School of The Art, Singapore, pursuing his BA (Hons) in Communication Design. With a central focus on photography, his works revolve primarily around the recreation of images through different channels of juxtaposition.

Kaz Orii's abstract expressions portrays the likeness of satellite-photo images of Urban Cities superimposed with tranquil shades from a palette inspired by Japan's very own nature reserves and its seasonal harmony of colours. He taps inspirations from his experiences and his vivid love for nature.

Nadhir Zainal's whimsical journey with art making is conceived by the many complexities of what this society brings. Being flung into the abyss of an unknown, "Alice", the subject of his exhibiting work, is the result of spontaneity, anxiety, exhaustion and transcendence, amidst the miscellaneous.

Ng Kuan Shin is an art educator. His interest is in rearranging his drawings and sketches by digitizing the hand-made processes into unusual personalized symbols. These symbols are drawn from imaginations, memories, intuition and glimpse of images in the galaxies.

A Malaysian based in Singapore, Valerie Ng is inspired by the natural elements, hues and shapes in the environment. Her paintings are bold explorations in color, light, depth, form and texture in the abstract expressionist style.