Knot @ Feeka

Krystie Ng's catalogue essay begins with: "They called it the quarter-life crisis; it is in which a person begins to feel doubtful about their own lives, brought on by the stress of becoming an adult, having to face the reality after graduating from schools." This uncertainty manifests in the exhibits at "Knot" organised by Ongoing Projects, a collective of five Dasein graduates. Krystie's' summer photographs of Europe blanks out a former lover, where the act of editing out a physical presence from a vacation, only serves to prolong a niggling pain. More transient are Kang Mei Yi's snapshots of time spent with friends, the pictures too blurry to effectively portray wasted youth. Abortive also are Lee Sin Yee's rotating white boxes, its ambient noise hardly registering a notice from the conditioned urban visitor.

Installation view of Race Phua - [left] Property Phenomena (2014); [right] Bubbles (2014)

Illustrated vignettes from daily observations are hung haphazardly by Race Phua for 'Bubbles', but her more interesting installation is the overflowing pile of house-for-sale signboards, the artist condensing her experience as a property agent into an artful presentation. Burning paper creates an irresistible visual texture, which approach is utilised by Chong Yi Lin, her abstract forms captivating the viewer via contrasting colours. Shades of black and brown recall the earth, although the real void is present not in the solid shape, but in the white background. Life maybe knotty, but artists organising their own exhibitions are an assuring sight, as an increasing number of middlemen peddle art for the wrong reasons.

Chong Yi Lin - Void and Tranquil (2014)