Lost in Mindscape

G13 Gallery is proud to present ‘LOST IN MINDSCAPE’, a trio exhibition that displays a number of artworks from three contemporary artists, Faiz ZA, NPAAW, and Gan Tee Sheng. ‘LOST IN MINDSCAPE’ emphasizes the artworks that manifest the psychological realms of these artists that are developed from their experience, knowledge, or things that they have witnessed.

In between seeing and believing, there is a process called discerning. As human beings, we cannot run away from having preconceptions and judgment towards things we are experiencing in this world, and these are all valid thought processes. We tend to process and comprehend these experiences, knowledge, etc. and come out with our own perspectives and judgment be it good or bad. While what we feel may be expressed or conveyed verbally, in the case of art, one can actually portray these questionings, interrogations and perhaps chaotic minds onto a canvas without being too descriptive or direct in manner, and can be signified through representations, symbols, as well as metaphors or allegories. Hence, this kind of mediating process of thinking that happens in the minds of these artists is what is highlighted in this exhibition.

Well-known for his reverse painting technique where the process starts from an all-black painted canvas, Faiz ZA brings to light his subjects by painting them using white paint. Stemmed from the current global issue of COVID-19 pandemic, Faiz depicts three different scenes portraying the effects of this deadly virus to the human being. The message of hope and acceptance can be seen in ‘Invisible War’ and ‘Stay at Home’ – where religious subject matters are in use, whereas in ‘Invasion’, Faiz completely illustrates a rather hyperbolic view of how this pandemic can turn us into a post-apocalyptic kind of situation.

NPAAW or his real name, Ngakan Putu Agus Arta Wijaya is an Indonesian artist whose style of artwork is very much inclining towards resembling the style of classical paintings. Focuses on the use of animal idioms as a language in his work, NPAAW uses these images to reflect the nature of human beings. He is intrigued in exploring the world of evolution as prompted by Darwin, drawing differences or even similarities of nature that both human and animal possessed, thus questioning the progress of our conscientiousness and our sense of moral judgment.

Meanwhile, for Gan Tee Sheng, many of his works are semblances of his lived experience and his observations. Hailing from Dasein School of Art, surrealism has always been a recurring style in his painting where he depicts his subjects in an unusual manner, complemented by dreamlike surroundings. His works sort of intensifying his perceived surroundings, for instances, ‘Chasing a Moon’ tells about his experience when he was a child where he thought he was being chased by the moon in the water; while ‘Dive’ depicts his friend wearing a diving suit, with droplets of water that seem magnified in size.

For decades, art has been used as a tool to communicate our perceived reality. But this does not imply that one should constrain his/her mind from wandering in its own mindscape that is full of curiosity and repress this thought process. Being an artist is not only about imposing a grounded stance on certain things, but also how one could uniquely express their experiences and how they see things differently, to be conveyed in their artwork.

‘LOST IN MINDSCAPE’ runs from 25th July until the 8th of August 2020 at G13 Gallery. Gallery opens daily from 11 am to 5 pm, closed on Sundays and Public Holidays.

Click to view Artist Profile

• Faiz ZA
• GAN TEE SHENG