WHead Spinning, Loop Creating
exhibitionHead spinning loop creating is part of the DISINI Breaking Waves Showcase Curator Nicolette Teo Artists Kheyton Lim Mithra Jeevananthan Yoo Seung Ji Nicolette Teo 23 June to 22 July 2018 12 - 7 pm 7 Lock Road Gillman Barracks Singapore 108935facebook.com/headspinningloopcreatinginstagram.com/headspinningloopcreating
Head Spinning, Loop CreatingHead Spinning, Loop Creating was an exhibition that took different experienceswith anxiety and adapts it into a physical space. The exhibition featured fourartists, Kheyton Lim, Mithra Jeevanatham, Yoo Seung Ji and Nicolette Teo, whodoubles as the curator for the show. The works reimagined previous worksdone by the artists, by adapting the works for the new exhibition space.All the artists explored aspects of space, cycles, control and journey withintheir works. They each related their personal experiences, which includeexpositions about their day to day lives, or their mental struggles.Overall, the show guided the viewer through the cyclic journey ofsuch experiences, by transforming the issue in peculiar and intriguing ways.
curator’s noteMy first encounter with the open call was first characterised by a sense offamiliarity, and then a sense of surprise: familiarity, in that it felt like a calling to meand my practice, and surprise, that my friends had not directed it to me earlier.Anxiety manifests itself in so many ways. It points to feelings of nervousness, fear, andworries, all of which one experiences it one way or another in their day to day lives. Forme, it was and still is something that I encounter daily at varying levels. It can be as subtleas a minor tremble when thinking about a new encounter, or a major attack when I fallinto an existential crisis. Either way, it places me within a crippling state of mind and heart.It’s quite funny that before I discovered this as a direction for my practice,I was just transitioning to the degree portion of my education after a dismal finaldiploma. I was worried out of my mind on what my work was going to be about.Worried I wasn’t able to come up with something that nothing spoke true to me.Who knew that worry would be next phase of my work? My practice has since, forthe past two years, been dealing with the idea of anxiety and ways to circumvent itInner workings and problems that arise from the mind always seem to be ataboo topic to touch. There is a stigma that one is labelled abnormal when they saythey have to rely on medication or they have to visit a psychologist. This show thuspresents itself as an opportunity to address these topics, through the artworks and theconversations we can have. When deciding on the artists I wanted to participate in theshow, I wanted artists whose works deal with anxiety in one way or another. This wasnot to position them at the extremity of their anxieties, but instead to open up a spaceof acknowledgement, discovery and reconciliation through their artistic practices.
For each artist, anxiety does not surface as the overriding concern they want toaddress; it is rather an influence on the topics they explore. I appreciated the way eachof the artists was able to turn to creating instead of dwelling on the problems that they arefacing and the way they manage to address other issues that are larger than themselves.Aspects of space, cycles, control and journey are touched on by each of the artistsas they relate the experiences they go through, be it from their day-to-day lives or themental struggles they face. Through this exhibition, there will be explorations of theinner workings of the mind, such as through Mithra Jeevananthan’s silkscreen prints,in which she creates a fictional world set in the amygdala; a part of the brain that con-trols fear and emotional response. It is also prevalent in Yoo Seung Ji’s work where herprivate thoughts about other dimensions and safe spaces are explored. Each artist alsotackles the aspect of space; Mithra’s imagined space, Seung Ji’s search and interest fora ‘safe-space’, Kheyton Lim, examining the living space, and my constructed space,where large drawings on tracing paper and videos are meant to generate a senseof calmness and serenity. As anxiety is a condition that generally lingers with the hostdaily, everyday is a theme that is also explored by some of the artists. Kheyton’sassemblages’echothesubtleanxietiesonefeels,withinthesupposedcomfortofthehome.I hope when you go through the exhibition and this publication, you experience a cy-clical journey through different minds; that you encounter the multiple stories, experi-ences and imaginations of this condition, and cogitate on the complexities of the mind. Nicolette
thank you!I would like to thank the following people:To the artists, Kheyton Lim, Mithra Jeevananthan and Yoo Seung Ji, for allowing meto understand you and your work so initmately and believing in me for putting thistogethrer. Thank you not only working tirelessly to create the works for the show, butfor the insightful writings that are part of this publication. I hope this process andexhibition has been a fruitful experience for you and has done justice for your work!To the DISINI team, for your constant support during this process from thebeginning to the end. Thank you for the amazing opportunity to put together thisshowcase, which has been one of the best learning experiences one could have.And to the viewer, for taking the time to come down and see theshow and for reading this publication. I hope you have enjoyed yourexperience and garnered some insight into this topic we’ve delved into.
KH ON EXAMINING THE SELF AS BOTH A SUBJECT AND A SUPPOSED HEYTONLIM Performance IV: Either the Children or the W “如果你不结婚，就没有家庭。以后放工回家， “If you do not get married, [you will have] no family and children. In Do you know that would be miserab It was an expected unfavorable reply to a passing remark I made over a Thereafter, silence w Marriage = Fam No marriage = No fa Children = No children = Misera Either the children or the walls; eit
HAPPY OBJECT WITHIN THE HETERONORMATIVE DOMESTIC SETTING K H E Y T O N L I M Wall. Scene Still. Dir. Kheyton Lim. 2017. Video.，你就只有面对四面墙。这样会很惨的你懂吗？” n future after work, you would return home to just the four plain walls. ble?” my father retorted in Mandarin. family dinner, where I mentioned my lack of intention to enter a marriage. was my response. mily + Children amily + No children Happiness able = No happiness ther stay happy or be miserable.
I am a supposed happy object for I am a child of my parents.
See not, hear not, and speak not - for most of my childhood, I wasconfused by own inclinations. I felt I was denied the relativity and firmsense of my own existence. I could not quite place my finger on thespecific causes. So, I began by identifying visual cues, in the attemptto re-examine my living space and the way I experience my home
With time, subtle anxiety manifests within the supposed comfort of thresistance to the everyday circumstances. It has been conditioned to spreservationoffamilialstability.Theestrangedbodycoexistswiththeothdomestic space that are not only demarcated by physical boundariesThe implicit presence of the estranged body at home remains unthe family, which is essentially an inability induced by an absencdisrupt the inherent silence on the subject of sexuality within the dometies that bind inadvertently continue to seek for alternative means to pthe metaphorical space and beyond. The process is an interpersona
he home. Driven by such affect, the body has established for itself astrategically adapt around unspoken taboos and expectations for the heroccupantsofthehousebymaneuveringcircumspectlyaroundthes but also those of the non-physical, which includes the psychological.nquestioned because of a lack of effective communication withince of a common vocabulary. Acts of discourse are necessary to estic sphere. However, at times when words are limiting, bodies withperform, interact, and negotiate along the implicit boundary betweenal and intersubjective endeavor that all parties must want to be part of.
Performance I: Folding the Clothes. ScWith an urge to reaffirm my sense of belonging, I began a first performancheteronormative domestic setting, for an established queer space is performfront of my mother whom was folding the laundry, and then went forward to picof my hands at the level of my chest, so that my face was visible to the camethe clothes in her own comfortable pace, and then one by one, she placed itcovered my face. After she was done with the last piece of clothing, I placedI had intended to represent, through the eventual concealment of myobscurity of my identity was the direct outcome rendered by the actionsquestion that required her to derive her own answers by pondering upon hlanguage of performance art per se, her innate curiosity and questions wediscourse. Although short-lived, the elephant in the room was given the atte
cene still. Dir. Kheyton Lim. 2017. Video. ce with the intention to explore what and where the queer space is within amative and relational. With no verbal exchange, I quickly set up the camera in ck up the small stack of clothes that was beside her. I held the stack with both era. Seemingly unruffled by the presence of the camera, she continued to fold onto the stack in my hands. The height of the stack increased and eventually d the stack down onto the sofa and walked out of the scene with the camera. face, the state of anonymity of my identity within the household; the s of the other. I believe the act was a question to my mother; it was a her involvement in the performance. Although she does not understand the ere necessary to disrupt the existing atmosphere perpetuated by a lack of ention. To an extent, the performance functioned as a mode of intervention.
Familial expectations, coupled by societal and cultural standards,are outcome of long term conditionings perpetuated by the variousstructures of power. A deviation from the collective vision is adisorientation that is perceived to be identified with anything elseother than what is strived for. In order for me to transgress withoutjeopardizing the relationship with my parents, it is necessary for me tounderstand that every individual in a relationship is “simultaneously avictim and the oppressor” (Tony E. Adams). One’s desires will alwayscontradict the interests of another. As such, while I understand my livedexperiences from the point of view as a marginalized individual, I have tobe aware of how my own gestures and remarks would impact upon theirconsciousness. By maintaining the status quo at home, my family andI inadvertently allow time to familiarize ourselves with one another as ourrespective identities continue to be layered by experiences beyond thehome.
Y Head Spinning, Loop CreatingOOSE personal note on the exhibition- by Seung Ji YooUNGJI Anxiety/ feelings of anxiety are often solid and substantial. I would like to pictire it to be like a stone. A stone with various surfaces.
Y O OThrough this show, Head Spinning Loop Creating, the four artists would Slike to present the multi-layered surfaces of Anxiety. EThe series of works that I will be presenting would attempt to lighten the Usubsequent heavy contexts that come along with the word Anxiety. N GThe exciting point about this show is that it doesnot mainly talk/deals with Anxiety itself. JThe four artists deal with feelings of anxiety which is constantly Iprevalent in their daily life, be it positive or negative.I am hoping that Head Spinning Loop Creating would be a platform tounderstand and appraoch a huge topic of Anxiety in various aspectssuggested by the four artists.
To end of, Although for a moment, I hope this show would be a place where it could bring other and moreconversations from different perspectives
MITHRAJEEVANANTHA “...is this supposed to be you?”N “ um no, it is what I want to be? I suppose this could be an alter-ego. An ideal being.” “Why is she covered with holes?’ “The lotus is not a she, the lotus is in between. The lotus hovers and transits along the binary system. Most of the time, the lotus is nothing.” “But it is so...scary...I don’t like the holes. Making me itchy la.” “Itchy is good. It makes you stop no?”
M I T H R AThe Lotus lies somewhere in between of one and two, incomplete Jand existing as a chimera, a fabricated hybrid. E E“But ultimately it is a symbol. I picked apart the image of the lotus and Vused the pores instead.” A“Sooo..the holes are there just to trigger people?” N“Hmm not exactly la. The lotus pores is just an exaggeration of my Ashaved skin. I use the lotus as a vessel to go against the need to be Nhairless under the patriarchal depiction of femininity.” T H A N“So is some feminist thing is it?”“Lel it is not thaaat straightforward ok, I was inspired to create thisentity that is a hybrid. Hybrid of machine and organism. A creature ofsocial reality and a creature of fiction at the same time.”“Basically, fictional but very real at the same time. A bit drama lahaha.”
“Your landscapes...so“Haha I like the organised chaos. Really, it just depicts the m but it is where I... escape to? We all do that, n “...the landscapes in my prints “How do you go about composing “The process is pretty fluid. It starts as a digitally construc that are constructed rather than grown. Maybe one “But like “Cliche enough, I let how what I feel at the moment to pic Sometimes it is quite chaotic then other times it is
o random for what??”mental landscape. My headscape. Cluttered most of the time no? we hide in our little bubble of escapism.” are my full furnished bubbles?” the visuals for...your bubbles then?”cted ‘perfect paradise’, I always wanted to create spacese day these prints can leak into the physical realm.” how??” ck the images that I decide to cut up and piece together. just...like that la. Ultimately, I just go with the flow.”
“Do these things that you put inside mean anything or is it just aesthetics lol?”“No laa. The symbols in my work serve the purpose of telling a fictional narrative in a complex landscape.”
“Then you use slugs for what one?”“The bodily secretion bruh. Also banana slugs are cute. These land-scapes are stemmed from fluid things like anxiety and sexuality. Boththings that I feel that I do not have much control over. I just use thesesymbols and characters to create my own language in way…”“Ahh isn’t it a little troublesome though? Digital then print then got allthese symbols then you add anxiety on top all…?”“You wouldn't’ have known if I didn't tell you though haha. I know itis, but all these steps makes me feel… a weird sense of self assur-ance. All the different processes and the lotus character being shiftedthrough different methods is part of it being a chimeric entity. That isanother word to think about lol. Chimeric.”“Semo chimeric…?”“The chimeric entity, chimeric in term of the process and chimeric inthe sense of fluidity of sexuality and anxiety.”“How did you think about this chimeric thing in the first place?”“I heavily rely on Haraway’s Cyborg manifesto but also use differenttheorists, who in their own way have somewhat challenged this overlygendered landscape that we are in”
The lotus is made up of ripped images, of low and reformatted quality“So complicated for what?“To complicate this regulated landscape, to fuck the system.”“Anything that helps depict the notion of the third being, the free being,the hybrid and the non-conforming queer individual.”“Fuck the system..?”“I mean in Haraway’s writings, the cyborg opposes essentialism. Sothe cyborg in theory dismisses the notion of categorising people, thedualism of gender, sexuality and the idea of ethnicity hence linguisticdemarcation between humans and cyborgs has been blurred allow-ing humans to be interpreted beyond how they are historically por-trayed.”“Sooo.. fuck the system no? The Lotus character’s purpose is to dis-entangle the human body while extending the mental self.”“Lastly, before you leave, how does this lotus symbol stand on apersonal level?”“The Lotus is fearless and rowdy. The Lotus is not paranoid. The Lo-tus is not nervous. The Lotus stands for everything I wish I was.”and placed in my digitally constructed “perfect paradise”
N the process of drawing turns the static figure into layers and waves ofI movementCOL elements of wind, breath and movement guide the viewer into aE calming spaceTTE let the waves wash away the uncertainty that culminates in the mindTE watch as the waves of the body move up and down,O pushing the ball of uncertainty out of the mind and the heart moving it around, until it exits the body
NICOLETTETEO
Where do these figures come from?It comes from me thinking of movements one can do to release thenegative thoughts from the body.Imagine how the body expels the negative waste from your bodyThe build-up of the things that enter our body over time is like thoughtsnaturally coming into the mind, staying there and festering. The bodyis able to naturally take out the gas, but for the thoughts, it has no wayto get out.So why is the body so automatic when it comes to physical waste butterrible when it comes to mental waste?Some reasons include:Our brains are wired for survival instinct and not for us to be happy. Thebrain uses these negative experiences as a way to warn us about howwe felt and what it did to us.These thoughts can’t be pushed aside and the constant repressingmakes the thoughts come back even stronger.
So what can we do?For me, art is a way to channel these thoughts into something produc-tive. Reframing how I see it, allows me to distance myself and rethinkon how these thoughts affect me. It doesn’t really get rid of it completelybut it is definitely better than dwelling on it and moping in self-pity.Will my work be able to make the viewer feel calm and remove theirnegative thoughts?If it is able to change your life and get rid of the negative thoughts, thatwould be great! But if the work is able to make the viewer think aboutthings differently, reposition certain their mindset and their outlook onlife, the work would have achieved something. If the viewer is also ableto feel something at that moment, a sense of calmness, the work wouldhave achieved something too.I hope the works lets you imagine more about life and the things thatgo on around you.
The balloon navigates through lines that provide structure. It is a free being tha Doesn’t it see the sky right above it? It’s so obvious to everyone It is the forces it can’t control that keep it where it is. On However, the balloon flies lightheartedly, not allowing it Eventually, it will either fly away to explore ano either way, it knows it’s not how other treat it in
at can move wherever it wants but it was stuck in this myriad of grids and lines.e. It should be able to fly up above, and escape if it wanted to. nly allowing minimal space, restricting it’s movement. to be kept down spiritually even though it is physically. other place or it will deflate and be left alone, the situation, but how it handles what comes.
How is one able to adopt the steady rhythm that breathing provides into their daily lives?
artistsKheyton LimEmploying a range of mediums that mainly includes found objects andmoving images, Kheyton explored subjects of domesticity, including idiosyncra-sies, sexual identity, and affects etc. Taking departure from lived experiences,his research practice helps him to reexamine his status as both a subject and asupposed happy object primarily within the predominantly heteronormative family unit.KheytonisaBA(Hons)FineArtsgraduatefromLASALLECollegeofthetheArts,Singapore.Yoo Seung GiYoo Seung Gi (b1997) was born in South Korea and was educated there until theage of 10 when her family moved to Singapore in 2006. From 2010 to 2014, shewas educated in School of the Arts Singapore and she specialised in Ceramics.After graduating from SOTA, Seung Gi continued her Diploma and Bachelor inFine Arts program in LASALLE College of the Arts from 2015. She is currently in hersecond year of Bachelor, and she works with painting and sculpture. Her choice ofmediums varies from time to time. She usually likes to experiment with different materials.Mithra JeevanathamMithra (1994) is a Singaporean visual artist with a BA in Fine Arts from Lasalle Collegeof the Arts. She specializes in Printmaking and paper cutting. Predominantly influencedby manga art, she draws inspiration from the illustrative art style. She attempts toprovoke a subtle and paradoxical sense of silent horror and the fluidity of sexuality throughher prints. Her current research focuses on the cyborg theory to mental health. With theintention of giving the viewer multiple interpretations of the headspace as a landscape,the act of obsessive daydreaming and “ero guro nansensu”, she attempts to challengetheir morals and ethics. Her current body of work shifts from depicting her chimericentity, the Lotus in different visual landscapes in her prints to the obsessive cutting of paper.
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