Ian Tee, MAN AGAINST MAN, 2019, acrylic, target paper, comic strips and handheld mirror on destroyed aluminium composite panel, 120 x 90 x 3 cm
A nod to the song by Eurythmics of the same name, SWEET DREAMS presents two bodies of work that explores and plays with the tensions and contradictions between dualities such as vulnerability/protection, desire/fear, nostalgia/trauma, and destruction/reconstruction. It consists of nine ‘Target Paintings’ on metal and two fabric works from Tee’s ongoing ‘FIRE BLANKET’ series. They feature collages of non-traditional materials and objects on complex, formal compositions that rethink and draw inspiration from conceptual, materialist, and gestural precedents.
Exchanging canvas for aluminium composite panels, Tee applies acrylic paints, collage and found objects on his paintings that blur the lines between abstraction and representation, medium and genre. The paintings on show feature target silhouettes floating and receding into an atmospheric field of colours, a motif which transforms one’s gaze into the aim of a firer on standby. Yet such violence is much closer than the impersonality of a gunshot, as suggested by slashing cuts that wound the surface. These paintings act as screens on which the artist explores the themes of alienation and difference, as well as the sensations of fear and anxiety they provoke. Recalling the works of Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, the cacophony of collaged objects and appropriated images present a multitude of meanings and interpretations; each carrying their specific baggage of histories – both common yet intrinsically personal.
Opening: Saturday, 2 March 2019, 4 – 7pm
Venue: Yavuz Gallery, Gillman Barracks, 9 Lock Road #02-23, Singapore 108937
Opening Hours: 11am to 7pm (Tue to Sat); 1pm to 5pm (Sun). Closed on Mondays and Public Holidays
When: 2 - 14 Mar 2019,
By: Ames Yavuz
