The work below is entitled “Heirloom” and is probably the last artwork of mine that will published in Malate Literary Folio (at least as a member). It’s currently one of my favourite works and last time I checked it is still being displayed at Exile on Main Street bar & restaurant.
Left: ‘Hairloom’ (2010), Watercolours on thick sketchpad paper || Right: ‘Heirloom’ (2012), Mixed media collage on wood panel
To those who are now familiar with how my process in making a/an drawing/painting/collage/artwork go I like creating works which prod the viewers to close-read it to make sense of it. I love surrealism and the philosophy behind the art movement, in addition I often enjoy works which present something perhaps only found inhabiting ones dreams or imagination. Most of the time when people ask me what is the meaning behind my painting I often reply back with the same question, ‘what do you think it means?’. Normally I just do this because I love hearing what other get out of my work, but another reason is to see whether or not my own personal concept has translated well onto the piece itself. In the case of “Heirloom” I have heard only one or two interpretations of the work and I was glad to hear their ideas were quite in-line with my original concept. It makes me feel that I did a good job in portraying my feelings in an image.
Another reason why I’m fond with this work is because it was one of the few revised artworks I have done which does not look like a cleaned-up second copy of the the original work. If you look back and forth from the original work done in 2010 to the final 2012 work the only thing that seems the same is the fact that the older man’s beard grows into the younger man’s hair, and the use of the sun-halo behind both figures. Everything else on the other hand has changed from the colours, their faces, and the position of younger man has changed. Okay, on one hand the original does not look that different from its original concept. However, for me this is a big change. Normally when I’m asked to revise I just fix those things which I was asked to fix be it colours, position of a hand, etc. And in the end those revisions look exactly like the first artwork just with perhaps one or two minor alterations. Heirloom was different and I’m quite happy about it and it makes me want to revise more old artworks and see what I can come up with.
It Hurts To Stand Up(,/-) Right(?/). 