Saturday, 2 November 2013

Artist: Victor Tan (Singapore)






Although a ceramics major, Victor began experimenting with wire in his first year of studies back in 1995.  In Searching for an alternative to pencil and paper for his life-drawing class, he found wire.  With wire, he could draw a line, feel it, then draw the next line, in relation to the last.  This way, he gets feedback which he can’t get through paper and pencil.  The wire sketches were an in-between of 2D drawings and 3D forms.  To him, space is the paper and wire is the pencil strokes. 

Victor has explored with galvanized steel, copper, brass, and now uses mainly stainless steel, of quality L304 or 316.  There is no fear of tarnish nor losing of its qualities over time.  Although a cold material, the finishing of stainless steel gives an attractively pleasing touch and look.  To Victor, perhaps more than anybody else, sculptures should be touched and felt. 


Victor’s sculptures are weaved from just wire, and hence seem colourless.  On a ironic note, the colour on the stainless steel is never the same, instead they absorb and reflect the environment, hence the colour and mood changes accordingly.  Seeing a same work at different times of the day and at different locations creates different dimensions to his between-2and-3D work.  The shadow casts from the sculpture onto a wall creates yet another dimension to the interesting dynamics of the works.  It begs the viewers now to ask, do we look at the 3D work or the 2D drawings on the wall?  

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