Sweet Slumbering, 2018

Hydrocal, Mica pigment and ultraviolet coating
47.3 x 87.1 x 35.5cm

THE NEW NOW 2, Vivid & Veiled
Gajah Gallery, Singapore
​27 July - 19 August 2018

"Sweet Slumbering" is a sculptural work that engages with the senses through its use of gypsum, artificial colorants, and ultraviolet coating. The piece features a range of tactile surfaces that are at once smooth and bulging, with cracks and folds disrupting the overall form. The rounded, swollen shape of the sculpture suggests a sense of movement and energy, while the distorted flat surfaces and candy-like palette add to its playful, almost frolicsome appearance.

The sculpture was created through a layering process involving gypsum mixed with pigment, which was then poured into a spandex mould stretched over a metal frame. This process allowed for the creation of strange and varied forms, including globular shapes, melting portrait busts, tumefied body parts, and mashed-together powdered marshmallows. The combination of painterly and sculptural techniques used in the creation of "Sweet Slumbering" adds to the sense of organic evolution in the piece, as the layered surfaces merge to form new colours.

However, the curing process of the sculpture is slowed, leading to a change in the saturation of the colours towards more pastel hues. Once fully cured, the colour fades, and upon close examination, the sculpture reveals unsightly remnants of the artificial colouring that can be somewhat repelling in contrast to its seductive form and colour. Overall, "Sweet Slumbering" is a striking and thought-provoking work that invites the viewer to engage with their senses and consider the interplay between form and surface.