Lintukoto
series of images, 2014
Haukijärvi, Finland
made on residency at Arteles Creative Center, supported by the National Arts Council
Lintukoto means 'a warm, peaceful, paradise-like place' in Finnish. A clown from an affluent, modern city represented by Singapore -my home country conflicted by disturbingly fast progress, and which was ranked the most emotionless society- visits a misty Finnish forest where it embarks on a journey of self-confrontation and transformation. Combining performance and installation, whimsical and dark interactions with real and constructed landscapes play out lyrically. Part of an ongoing exploration about the modern role of Clown, the Pierrot I resurrect is a melancholic and disillusioned but ultimately hopeful being, a counterpoint to the harsh realities of a modern world, of which it questions authenticity and return to a truth via a spiritual journey in nature – a nature that seems at once rosy, dark and embracing. The images paint an ambiguous narrative of identity, calling upon the modern and mystic, ending in cosmic metamorphosis. Collaged with glossy Singapore postcards, decaying forest matter and Pierrot’s scribblings, Lintukoto is also a tactile, hand bound book that becomes a sensorial palimpsest examining a modern spirituality. Most of the images were taken with an iPhone, the modern clown's instrument of choice.
A selection of images:
Haukijärvi, Finland
made on residency at Arteles Creative Center, supported by the National Arts Council
Lintukoto means 'a warm, peaceful, paradise-like place' in Finnish. A clown from an affluent, modern city represented by Singapore -my home country conflicted by disturbingly fast progress, and which was ranked the most emotionless society- visits a misty Finnish forest where it embarks on a journey of self-confrontation and transformation. Combining performance and installation, whimsical and dark interactions with real and constructed landscapes play out lyrically. Part of an ongoing exploration about the modern role of Clown, the Pierrot I resurrect is a melancholic and disillusioned but ultimately hopeful being, a counterpoint to the harsh realities of a modern world, of which it questions authenticity and return to a truth via a spiritual journey in nature – a nature that seems at once rosy, dark and embracing. The images paint an ambiguous narrative of identity, calling upon the modern and mystic, ending in cosmic metamorphosis. Collaged with glossy Singapore postcards, decaying forest matter and Pierrot’s scribblings, Lintukoto is also a tactile, hand bound book that becomes a sensorial palimpsest examining a modern spirituality. Most of the images were taken with an iPhone, the modern clown's instrument of choice.
A selection of images:
copyright 2016 Ng Xi Jie