"KNIVES IN THE WATER"
Paintings created for "Knives In The Water", a solo exhibition held at Chan + Hori Contemporary, 4th to 28th May2017
Knives in the Water is an exhibition of new artworks from Singapore based Speak Cryptic. This will be his first solo show at Chan + Hori Contemporary – the first in 10 years in Singapore - and his most introspective one to date. The exhibition highlights a collection of characters and places which function as a means to explore tribal identity and group dynamics. At the core of his investigations are issues pertaining to the human condition and the visual language prevalent within the cultures of comics and underground music.
These fictitious friends and imaginary landscapes have traveled with Speak Cryptic for many years. The fresh set of works will expose his ‘tribe’ and deconstruct the characters within the circle. Separating and isolating the characters and landscapes are opportunities to approach more intricate elements, including tribal member’s patches, tools and headdresses. The ethnological approach of Knives in the Water challenges us to examine ourselves along with or against these tribal hybrids of South East Asia. In conjunction with the characters, the unraveling of the landscapes complements the earlier work from Speak Cryptic. These new works elaborate on his observations in chronicling time spent in Singapore’s punk locales around the city center.
Paintings created for "Knives In The Water", a solo exhibition held at Chan + Hori Contemporary, 4th to 28th May2017
Knives in the Water is an exhibition of new artworks from Singapore based Speak Cryptic. This will be his first solo show at Chan + Hori Contemporary – the first in 10 years in Singapore - and his most introspective one to date. The exhibition highlights a collection of characters and places which function as a means to explore tribal identity and group dynamics. At the core of his investigations are issues pertaining to the human condition and the visual language prevalent within the cultures of comics and underground music.
These fictitious friends and imaginary landscapes have traveled with Speak Cryptic for many years. The fresh set of works will expose his ‘tribe’ and deconstruct the characters within the circle. Separating and isolating the characters and landscapes are opportunities to approach more intricate elements, including tribal member’s patches, tools and headdresses. The ethnological approach of Knives in the Water challenges us to examine ourselves along with or against these tribal hybrids of South East Asia. In conjunction with the characters, the unraveling of the landscapes complements the earlier work from Speak Cryptic. These new works elaborate on his observations in chronicling time spent in Singapore’s punk locales around the city center.
