Mechanical Satisfaction - Actually Really Simple, 2009

160cm x 10cm

Aluminium Plate

The work revolves around the theme of “Scientific Drawing”. When the theme was given a sentence that my cousin told me about gave me inspiration to do this work. The sentence, though complex, simply meant “Please speak clearly and simply”, which was an oxymoron. In this work, a complexly worded sentence of a simple instruction was embossed onto an aluminium plate. The meaning of the instruction was to simply draw a circle.

I started by questioning what made up the components of a “scientific drawing” and how this idea could be further pushed through the different methods of presentation. Does the work, when done on metal, give any feeling of an experiment to the viewer? Does the complexity of the sentence embossed on the plate confuse the audience as much as some scientific instructions? Similarly, in science simple requirements are given complex instructions and end up confusing the reader.

At first glance, it seems just like a normal plate of metal. This for me is a way to draw audiences to observe in greater detail the instructions on the plate. Instead of making a literal drawing, I wanted the responses of my audience to see which one they interpreted my work as, the instructions and the intangible, or the visual and the presentation.

Presented to Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong, as a token of appreciation at the Official Opening Ceremony of School of The Arts (SOTA), Singapore.