Jumping into the number 13!

      This is my last post for 2012, dedicating to my family and friends and supporters who have made my year eventful. So we didn't go extinct after all; the last day of the Mayan calender passed by rather peacefully, til my partner pointed out to me that we had gone beyond the 21^st  December (happy jump!).

      Huddling up in a kaleidoscope of this year's memories, I was reminiscing through all the happy moments as well as the rough patches I'd gone through. Months living separated from home and my partner kept haunting me under the shadow of forlorn loneliness. Having the tendency to a slight pessimism also adds up to the hindrance of  my complete concentration on art creation. However, things seem to work out fine, as they always do. And I have grown so much within the last twelve months, both keeping myself in practice and developing my own viewpoint towards the art industry. 

• I am not trying to define myself among other artists anymore, as I realize how hard I try, my style will always, always encounter (or reminiscent of) someone else's. And art is not about how your works look aesthetically, but rather the executions and the ideas hidden underneath it. Take film directors for instance, my colleague had sometimes moaned about how many directors do the same thing just in order to attract mass audiences. But don't forget, most people do it! Numerous directors exploit digital visual elements in their movies, but Tim Burton still stands out among them as an extraordinary artist who blows a sense of quirkiness and bizarre visualization in his works. Or lots of directors choose romantic comedy as their goal, but is there another Woody Allen- who distances himself with extremely intelligent dialogues and filming techniques in Annie Hall and Midnight in Paris?
  Follow this point, I am confident that I have my own development of thoughts and artistic approaches. And I believe we all do.
  And remember, shock value isn't considered a mark of originality, but your personal viewpoints are.
• Through out my artistic practice, I have found it very essential looking out for various references around the art scenario. Although limited myself as an illustrator at the moment (which sometimes can be a bit overwhelming already), I never stop being nosy around other art events. Watching ballet, flipping through fashion magazines and photographers, visiting conceptual art museums and digesting a whole lots of movies have given me so much awareness, as well as inspirations in creating my own illustrations.
  Spend more time in the library, or have a book next to you in the toilet, or look out for show you are interested to watch will offer you so much more than you ever wish for. The feeling of accumulating knowledge is a great pleasure, and everyone should deserve to experience it.

    Lastly, I have found some of my most inspiring sources:

• Toni Morrison, lately I have gone mad with her novels, simply poetic! (The Bluest Eye and Beloved are highly recommended)
• Shaun Tan's books still capture every bit of my heart, both aesthetically and emotionally
• Tracing back time and finding out these tremendous movies: Mankiewicz's All about Eve, Benigi's Life is beautiful and Hitchcook's Rebecca.
• Whatcha mean? What's a zine? has introduced into an unconventional activity for writing diaries and noting down random things. Gonna start to do that next year!
• Amandine Alessandra and Abba Richman are two typography installation artists with innovative approaches to creating letters.

     Anyway, have a fascinating start for 2013! I shall ask the dandelions to carry out your wishes and make them come true :)

PS.

My colleague Elliot 
sketched a quick portrait of me:)