Singapore wins Asean Art Awards 2002 grand prize

NUSA DUA, Bali, Indonesia–Singapore won its first ever Grand Prize in the Asean Art Awards 2002.

Singaporean artist Francis Ng Teck Yong, who did "Constructing Construction #1" which bested 39 other works from various Asean member countries, received his award from Indonesian Minister of Tourism and Culture I Gede Ardika last May 9 at the Bali International Convention Center in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia.

Philippine representative Benjamin Dayrit Elayda III’s "Valorized and Commodified Curio" was awarded one of the five Juror’s Choice Awards together with Thailand’s’ Jaruwat Boonwaedlom for his " New Vision on Culture," Aung Myint of Myanmar for "Homage to the Mothers," Malaysia’s Mohammad Suhaimi Tohid for "Journey" and Vietnam’s Nguyen Quoc Huy’s "Liberation Road."

Present during the awards ceremonies were Asean Deputy Secretary General Ahmad Mokhtar Selat, Philip Morris Vice President for Asia Ellis Woodward and the board of judges headed by Dr. Pat Hoffie, an Australian artist who has exhibited in her native country as well as throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Dr. Hoffie, who holds a PhD in Art History from the University of New South Wales, spoke for the international panel of judges that included Prof. Yulin Lee, Dr. Emily Sano, Prof. Philippe Piguet and Prof. Han-Kook Kim. In a press conference that followed the official opening of the Asean Art Awards 2002 exhibit, Dr. Hoffie stressed that Yong’s work made a "wonderful statement in an entirely new format."

Yong’s prize-winning 138 cm by 183 cm work elicited mixed reactions from the crowd composed of critics, journalists, art gallery owners, artists and art lovers, because of its radical choice of medium. "Constructing Construction #1" is actually color photographic print (C-Type) which the artist took with a medium format Hasselblad camera. The composition shows a frontal worm’s-eye view of an unfinished viaduct on Singapore’s Upper Serangoon Road jutting towards the direction of the viewer.

Yong, part-time lecturer at Singapore’s La Salle SIA College of Arts and a member of the Photographic Societies of America and Singapore, explains that contrary to some viewer’s impressions, he did not just go to the site and snapped the photo all in one go. "On the contrary," he said, "It took me some months to finally come up with the composition I liked.

Talking about the inspiration for his work, Yong said "Changes in spaces interest me greatly, where once there was a building, there can now be a void. Out of nothing, monuments can be constructed.

"I use photography to capture the essence of this edifice. In the process, I have reconnoitered the site and its associations physically and symbolically so as to examine it closely and understand the ‘in-betweeness’ of space, non-places, the transitional aspect of the once existing and once present. At the same time, I have created a distance between the viewer and reconstructed space. This in-betweeness contains a moment in time and holds a presence," he adds.

Two years after the competition widened the scope of art beyond the traditional notion of painting, Yong’s work evidently tests, if not stretches, the boundaries of two-dimensional art. The work breathes with a painterly quality at first glance that one is inclined to mistake it for a photo-realist painting. But closer examination reveals that on the contrary, this is not a painting that closely simulates a photograph. Rather, it is a photograph that successfully resembles a painting. The work can not be denied the visual impact it delivers.

This writer wholly agrees that the notion of art has changed drastically in contemporary times. If everyday objects like a pile of trash or a supermarket cart-full of goodies can be art, or a bit further back, if a bicycle or water closet can also be considered such, materials and formats have followed suit.

Yong’s choice of subject matter however, brought to mind a striking resemblance of Filipino artist Anthony Palomo’s painting of unfinished flyovers in the metropolis. This was the artist’s Manila, and on another level, the metaphor for the reckless speed by which progress proceeds, regardless of the consequences.

This visual language has been a concern of Palomo several years back, and in fact even won for him a prize in an art competition sponsored by Windsor-Newton. Similarities or coincidences if you may are, of course, everyday occurrences. And we must mention here that Palomo’s composition are seen from a different perspective and are rendered in hues of browns and ochres.

Meanwhile Benjamin Dayrit Elayda III says of his work," An image does not imply power relations but raises a question as well: Is this the only way for us and other non-whites to regain our value and significance to be sanctioned or ‘commodified’ by the anthropological, cultural, institutional machineries of the West?"

Benjamin holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree major in painting from the Ford Academy of Arts in Davao City and currently teaches at the Far Eastern University.

On the whole, Asean Art Awards 2002 reaffirmed the richness and diversity of Asian art, while at the same time acknowledging the uniqueness of each culture. The artist is able to seize this uniqueness and build on it to come up with works that, while retaining their local flavor, are also able address the emerging trend of globalization.

From the Bali International Convention Center, the exhibition of works from this year’s Asean Art Awards moves to the Indonesian capital of Jakarta where it will be on display from May 27 to June 8 at the Asean Secreatriat in Kebayoran Baru.

The awards, now on its eighth year, is a major commitment by the Philip Morris Group of Companies to Asean.

"The Asean Art Awards were initiated to encourage, inspire and reward – and most importantly– support creative works by established and emerging artists within the Asean member countries," says Ellis Woodward.