Shiho Fukada

Shiho Fukada produced a series of documentaries about the very compressed and somehow twisted society, Japan, of how people deal with the struggles that they have came across in life.

I chose to focus on this chapter 'Overworked to Suicide', it is sad to say but it is a very strong and moving documentary. But other from the scary facts that has happened, I want to focus on the emotional decisions that the workers did.

How hopeless it is the environment has left them, and they have no choices. They quit living.

Overworked to Suicide

David Shrigley

The style of the animation I would use cute to describe but the meaning and messages of it is actually really scary and ironic. 

I see the act as the first steps of destroying oneself's character. And then it will slowly forget how it was before. 

New Friends

Kinstugi

Exhibition - Yemi Awosile - Somewhere in Between & Paul Scott - Home Truths

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I was very surprised when I was looking for the exhibition of Yemi Awosile as I was expecting to be a 'normal' show. However, I found the works on the wall in a small and quiet street. I like how it was displayed as if the works are all notice for people to read or instructions for people to follow. There is no leaflet to take or words to explain about the work but only images and the materials that, I believe, is what the artist used for the works. It was a very interesting experience standing on the street and looking at artwork.

Then, I found another very useful exhibition for me around the corner.

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'Bombs over Baghdad No. 1', 2003, 2007, 2012. In-glaze decal collage on handmade stoneware platter, broken.

This exhibition about breaking and combining and re-born immediately remains me of the Kinstugi that I was looking at. The most interesting part of his works combining different ceramics together and became one.

However, the one that captured my attention the most will be the broken plate that I showed above. It was the only one in the exhibition that is left broken. And I just realized how amazing  beautiful it is to be broken yet still very original. 

Movie - パプリカ (Paprika)

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'Paprika', 2006, movie by Satoshi Kon

The craziness of this movie creeps me out and also swallows me up.

The theme of the movie is opposite to the colourful parades in it. In the movie Paprika, the main character, used dreams to recovers nightmares of people in reality. But there are also examples of people could not get out of the exciting parades in the dreams and died. In the second last scene a male character used his own nightmare to swallow up the reality, then Paprika ate him and his dream up, she became bigger. 

If this happen in real life, how many people can be Paprika? How many people will be swallow by the nightmare? And how long will it take for us to realize?

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Poem - 'Postcards' by Sarah Kay

Script of 'Postcards'

Movie - Inception

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'Inception', 2010, movie by Christopher Nolan

What excites the viewer is the idea of living in between 'reality' and 'imagination'. People like imagination because they can control when to stop but in reality, life goes on. In our imagination we don't have to hold any responsibility or the responsibility for affecting others. In the movie, the main character use his own dreams to contain his memories and emotions, which we all do in real life. And how we contain them, how deep we decide to hide them and how long they stay, all depends on how tight the relationships of things and people are to us. We respond them differently according to these factors, and leads to how we contain them within ourselves.

Poem - 'OCD' by Neil Hilborn

How he was changed...

'OCD' is one of the most influential, depressing and beautiful poems that I have ever read. Despite the fact that it was actually written and performed by an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder's patient, the transformation of him cause by the girl he met is very delicately recorded, and all the small things and details are what completely the poem. I was very heartbreaking and sweet at the end of the poem - 'Now, I just think about who else is kissing her, I can't breathe because he only kisses her once, he doesn't care if it's perfect. I want her back so bad. I leave the door unlocked. I leave the lights on.' - How much love and desperate does it take to make an OCD patient don't care anymore? 

Mandy Len Catron - A better way to talk about love

Metaphors that we use...

I was looking at how we should phase our feeling and was thinking whether I was using the write words to describe what I call the time of 'containing' and 'drowning' correct or not. I realized that these words has been mentioned quite a few times in the talk when she was talking about how love is similar to mental illness and I found that very relatable.

Then I started to think why did I choose to use the word - 'drown'? Maybe it is the wrong word, maybe I was looking for a word that describe 'staying still in the middle of the water'. Going back to where I got the idea from, I wanted to describe a very delicate and sensitive period of time of human, then 'floating' came to me first, then 'drowning'. When we think of the safest feeling, our natural human instincts come back to us, we wanted to be wrapped up, maybe a hug from our mothers, or even when we are inside our mum's belly

Movie - 志明與春嬌 Love in a Puff

Movie - 春嬌與志明 Love in a Buff

Story of Hong Kong romance...

'Love in a Puff' is a movie about the transition of a pair of couple in a very 'Hong Kong way', which is where I am from. I found it very hard to define the idea of 'Hong Kong style', I guess it means realistic, straight forward, detailed and rough at the same time. 

It is true that it is not the most artistic movie to do research on but I think it does bring out the idea of how two people shape each other in a very elegant and natural way. the movie is very relatable for a lot of people, not necessarily only the people that are or were in love, but also for different kind of relationships. I especially like the second one, that is when they were separated, the moment how they both think of each other because of how similar they act like each other surprise them.

Exhibition - David Hepher - Grain of Concrete & (Surprise...)

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'Camberwall Flats by Nights', 1983. Oil on canvas, 199 x 260 cm

Went into the gallery and the lighting was matching the paintings a lot. 'Concrete' gives me a feeling of dull, packed and somehow reminds me of my hometown - Hong Kong. And when I saw the painting above I thought it was Hong Kong for a second. The density of the rooms and the lights feels very warm to me.

And then I found a surprise upstairs!

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A photograph in the gallery's office drawn my attention straight away. It is Hong Kong I am very sure! I did not know this photography before but I the image made me me feel like I'm back home!

Exhibition - Tom Owen - Void Surveyor

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'Gentle Persuasion II', 2017, Watercolour on canvas

This exhibition is probably the most casual and informal show that I have ever seen. The gallery door was left opened with no one in there. I also was not too sure about the green wrapped up boards (turned out to be woods that were wrapped with army surplus blanket) that were lying around. But guess the atmosphere suits the theme as the artist said he work is 'places itself in the gap between found and willed; between lost and left behind...'

The only painting that caught my attention was the one that I showed above. I always like the very plain and blank art and I found the artist really bold to put such a 'silent' painting in that little crowed and busy room with the black floor and huge green boards. I can see how the boards are related to the painting right now, but it was very difficult to tell as I could not see the whole installation from a distance. I realized how important it is to put the works up in a limited space so that the viewer can get the best out of them.

So in general, this is not the most influential and memorable exhibition that I have seen. I can see there is some rooms for improvement. I personally did not really enjoy the show as I felt like I could not really focus on the works because of the distractions around them, and the works did not actually merge into the space. Yet, I have truly learned a lot from this experience.

The Millennial Question by Simon Sinek

I found this video of a very inspiring talk about the millennial generation by Simon Sinek. He gathers the problems that the world has been criticizing about the teenagers nowadays and explains them bit by bit. Since I am looking at how generations affect each other, Simon Sinek's talk was very helpful about why most of the teenagers act differently than the last generation. Why they seemed to be weaker? Why the suicide rate is getting higher?

People can also predict how the next generation is going to be like if this continues.

The Millennial Question

Exhibition - Sebastian Stöhrer

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This is one of the most amazing exhibition I have been to. I found Sebastian Stöhrer's works are able to create a magical atmosphere when they are put together, it's like they have become alive! 

Unlike other exhibition, Sebastian Stöhrer's works take time to allow people realize the beauty of it. When I first saw the works I did not really felt or understand any them, but then I started to wonder around between the sculptures, I realize I could not recognize the same piece from its back! And the more I look at them the more lively they became. The colours the artist used for a particular part with a particular shape of the sculpture, these all gave unique characters to each pieces of work. 

At the end, the exhibition became a garden that is full of little living creatures who had some many tiny conversation with me. 

Book I bought of Sebastian Stöhrer

'we are not quite sure...'

Exhibition - Beth Collar - Seriously

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This exhibition is in a very hidden and small gallery but has its unique and slightly creepy atmosphere that I could not forget. Inside the gallery, the lighting is very dull and on the floor there are small sculptures that I was very confused about. The further I walked into the back of the gallery I got more nervous, then I was shocked and stopped by the little space in the back.

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They are all top of different creatures heads! I could not lie that I did not want to go into this corner at the back because I was scared. At the same time I understand the impact and influence sculptures have on viewers, even they are not big. It is because it is 3D, it feels closer to living creatures. 

Zion.T - Eat

Description of the 'drowning'...

'Postcards' by Sarah Kay is a very delicate and romantic description of the time when relationship is slowly changing but there is nothing you can do to fix it. I cannot help seeing this poem with my personal experience but I believe that this helps me to explain my idea of the project a lot clearer to others.

The poem records the transition of feelings. In the first paragraph (highlight in blue), these is the time when the girl knows things are going to change, the feeling of uncertainty towards to future hits her by storm but everything is calm on the outside. Nothing can be done in that moment because nothing has happen yet. No one will fix a problem before it's there. Then to middle part of the poem is when something has gone wrong already, it's too late already. This is the most dramatic and emotional period of time. And finally, the last paragraph (highlight in red), the time of 'containing' and 'drowning', it is the period of not letting go nor moving on, just hanging in the middle, stuck. 'Still now...she does not know how to.'

I want to focus on the period of containing because I believe that this is a very essential stage that every broken relationships must have gone through. It is important because that is when people make decision of what to  be thrown away, what to be remained and what to be added. These included their habits, behaviour, personalities... When I said make decision, I do not mean on purpose and consciously, but maybe the times we go back to visit out memories. Have you ever realized you suddenly sound like someone or act like someone? What I am trying to say is - we form our identity through relationships with others. And everytime one breaks, a part of us break, and slowly grows a new and different part back.

Melanie Counsell

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'Rosetta', 2012, installation

Melanie Counsell built an installation in a gallery which is about controlling the intense space. I think this is a capturing sculpture and I can see a lot of detailed decisions have been made to finish it. I especially like the angles of both the sculpture and how the artist made the viewer to look at it. Also the transparent material Melanie Counsell used added the interesting texture, and creates a vulnerable feeling for the installation.

Mike Nelson

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'Le Cannibale', 2008, installation

Watching all those wood blocks that were meant to be perfect became so imperfect somehow creates satisfaction to me. I see this installation in three parts : white = pure, cubes = perfect, destruction = trace of lives. There is something very human about this installation where damaging equals to completing and it feels very good about it. I do not think this is a violent act in this case, it can even be elegant about it.

Script of 'OCD'

Script of 'Mandy Len Catron - A better way to talk about love'

Alois Kronschlaeger

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'The Cubes', 2013, wood, aluminum mesh

I absolutely love how the fixed straight lines of the cubes met the irregular curve of the aluminum mesh. The curves make the sculpture so alive as if they have taken this photograph while they melt them. I like the combination of how perfect angles met the liquid-ish effect. They somehow create a balance between them.

Understanding Human Emotions.

brief read...

Micheal Wolf - Architecture of Density

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I sat down in the gallery's office and read the book that a lady gave me about the photograph on their wall. The process of reading the book is like a journey going back home. And I was very surprised that I much I changed because of being alone and studying abroad. When I was in Hong Kong, I always moaned about how crowed Hong Kong is, how little sky we can see on the street an how horrible the air is. I also did not like the structures of the buildings because I think they are too formal and lack of 'character', they are all too similar. But after I came to London, when I have all the things that I want to have in the environment, I started to like how Hong Kong is. When I look at the photographs in the book, how the colours collide and how the shapes of each building and flats fit perfectly, I realized I miss all of it. I found those pictures incredibly beautiful. I like how the squares fit like a puzzle. And the colours somehow matches the next one.

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