Hong Sek Chern, Accretion II (2015), Chinese ink, pigment on rice paper, 66 x 65 cm
Lost City was conceived by architect and arts writer Arthur Sim in 2004 to explore the intersections between art, architecture and urbanism in the hopes of unveiling certain truths about the urban environment. In 2008, Lost City 2 expanded on those ideas and addressed the fluid and ephemeral states brought on by living within a full-fledged globalised city. Lost City 3 asks the artists to revisit these concepts and consider the temporal component of their overlaps and transitions—how we register the momentum of the city.
Using Chinese ink, pigment, and collage on rice paper the works of Hong Sek-Chern aggregate the city into a discernible yet unsettling urban-scape, liberating the built environment from the restrictions of the physical world and focusing on the planar aspects of urban growth. Tang Ling Nah also plays with perspective in her installation work, constructing miniature cityscapes out of charcoal fragments and projecting its exaggerated outline. The shadow play seeks the truth of presence within our perceptions of the environment. Geraldine Kang’s photography installation documents the interior of a typical HDB flat and marks the space before and after the passing of a family member. This highly personal record serves as a reminder that the lived experience of place and its material structure are inherently intertwined, and that absence is a subjective concept. Also addressing built space as integral to the lived in experience, artist and architect CK Kum presents reclaimed artefacts, remnants of a now demolished Joo Chiat stage house and a series of photograph-based paintings recalling the “life” of the wooden structures, both memorialising and extending their existence.
Through the use of installation, photography, painting, and Chinese ink, the artists of Lost City 3 consider the contrasting and overlapping experience of time within the built environment and once again, attempt to capture ‘truths’ about the built environment that might otherwise prove fleeting.
Opening Night: Thursday, 19 November 2015, 7pm – 9pm
Artist Talk: Saturday, 5 December 2015, 3pm – 4pm
Venue: Chan Hampe Galleries, Raffles Hotel Arcade #01-21, 328 North Bridge Road
When: 19 Nov - 6 Dec 2015,
