Transience

Abstract

The project is a culmination of the endless admiration of the poetic beauty of Vanda Miss Joaquim. Its subliminal beauty transcends time, evolving wilfully through the hopefulness of a bud, radiance of a full bloom and the struggling tenacity of the fading. The series seeks to encapsulate the emotional subtleties of each stage with the exploration of volumetric qualities. With in-depth studies into its form, the intriguingly exquisite qualities could be expressed thoroughly through the convexity and concavity of the form of Vanda Miss joaquim. Singapore’s national flower, Vanda Miss Joaquim, is chosen as the feature of the piece due in part because of the celebration of her Golden Jubilee and also because of the cultural significance the flower has to the Singapore national identity. Hopefully, the work inspires greater curiosity about the orchid and its varying stages of growth. Works of Leslie Matthews, Han Sai Por and Hans J. Wegner have been consulted in the pursuit of the perfect design and creation of the bowls. Leslie Matthews inspired exploration into the intimacy of scale and intensity of contrasting textural forms to express the emotive complexity of the inner narrative and outer surrounds. Han Sai Por is a Singaporean sculptor, best known for her stone sculptures with organic forms. Drawing inspiration from both artists, the same breath of life is to be injected into the bowls, making them look more than just wood. As for Hans J. Wegner, inspiration could be drawn from the style of having clean and simple lines that flows continuously around his chairs. In the same way, wood grains of the bowls were used to direct attention along its contours, with nothing held in abeyance.