Perfect Uncertainties
Being in Singapore at the time I had to adapt to everyday life feeling 'picture perfect', places being squeaky clean, getting anywhere is super convenient, it was hard to spot infrastructural imperfections in the system. Everyone around me was well organised and very certain of where they will be in the near future. I felt out of place and almost felt like I was in a mental space where experiments are discouraged.
Slowly, I did start to adapt to that lifestyle. I noticed changes in my behaviour towards little things. A minor inconvenience could really bother me and this would never happen back home in Pune. I started to miss the adventure of uncertainties and wanted this project to speak for how Uncertainties can be Perfect too.
As an inspiration board for my project, I created this video using recorded visuals and inspiring audio clips. I realised that being okay with uncertainties could be a superpower in dire times and 'Perfect Uncertainties' could be a defining piece in my body of work.
Although uncertainty was the theme of the creative process, I gave myself a few guidelines to the game :-
1) The process will consist of drawing/mark making (As I was doing my major in Drawing)
2) I will not purchase a single item to create this work (Only use found objects and supplies that I already own)
3) I will attempt to love each step in the process.
Luckily for me, that same week my lecturer offered to me three wooden planks that he previously used for an installation. These immediately turned into my pieces of canvas.
And so it began...
The first marks on the plank were made by cans of spray paint that I owned from a previous project. I invited peers who had never tried this medium before to have a go and fearlessly lay a foundation layer for my drawing and most importantly to have fun doing it.
As the cans came to an end, I started looking for discarded objects, that I could use. I did not limit myself to conventional drawing media at all. Discarded clothe hangers, spoilt wires, Pokemon cards, bottle caps, shiny sticker paper were some tools that brought in the junkyard aesthetic I started to enjoy. The installation slowly started to take shape, I was excited with the visual direction this project was taking. Daily, I would spend a mark making session with the planks for over a month.
Halfway into the project, we were hit by the Pandemic and complete lockdown. This meant that there may not be a physical display of this project at a gallery. This was a disappointment as I planned to make this work an interactive installation that can be added-to by the viewer. The visuals on the planks gradually grew more and more chaotic with no single focus, every corner having an overwhelming flavour of interwoven marks, shapes and colours. I believe I subconsciously ended up creating something that I felt the world around me lacked. Lines representing unpredictability and strong character. I attempted to show the beauty in an imperfectly symmetric composition.
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I was pleased with outcome of this project and even more by the process of how it was developed. Enjoyed observing the contributing factors in how things slowly fall into place, often even without applying pressure. I realised that I could create an absolute masterpiece and my closing statement for it's description would still be "Experiments are fun".
Thank you for viewing this project.