Singapore Art Exhibition - The Enlightened Series - Fire

There was quite a bit of research that goes into these 5 paintings. I was looking for ways to represent the five elements, and in a way, imbue the paintings with the qualities of each element. Fire is an element that is filled with energy, resonating with qualities of dynamism, strength and persistence. It is very active and vibrant, and it moves outward, expanding with the potential of going into full bloom, energised by the colour red (which is associated with extreme luck). It is associated with fame and good name, and the way of making one visible in the world. It is the flame that provides warmth, creativity and enthusiasm. And there's the fire from the heart as everything external is a reflection of the internal. And for strength and solidity, the abstraction of a stone statue of Buddha meditating, igniting the flame of fire.

As it is, the 5 elements are more phases or dynamic states of change, and as always, balance is key. An excess of fire can also burn in the destructive cycle, resulting in aggression, impatience, anger or impulsive behaviour. Our sense of self or the way the world plays out for us is a play of patterns. Each stage is always a phase, transient and ever changing; when we're caught up in it, we never believe it to be so. ;) haha It's only when the phase has taken its turn, that we look back and realise that it has passed. And with that, we get older and hopefully wiser ;) wahahahaha... More on the other paintings soon...

CATMASUTRA - THE ENLIGHTENED SERIES

4th - 19th JUNE 2008
@ ARTOHOLIC GALLERY
422 joo chiat road

Opening Hours:
monday-friday: 12pm - 9pm
saturday : 10am - 9pm

Paintings will be displayed till 19 June 2008

;)

Catmasutra - The Enlightened Series

One (2007)

A little entry of my next exhibition, Catmasutra - The Enlightened Series. It's an extension of the Buddha series, which has been a recurring theme through the years. It will be held at Artoholic Gallery at Joo Chiat Road in June. I guess it's a kind of natural progression, moving into specific themes for my solo shows as I go along. The annual Catmasutra exhibition at Utterly Art will probably be the only one that is "open-ended".

Cat's Sutra(2006)

For the Enlightened Series, I'm presenting the cheeky Catmasutra cats in meditative and mystical settings, with foundational ideas based on Asian philosophical traditions, notably Buddhism, Zen and Taoism. The trademark eyes-wide-shut and ear-to-ear grin of the Catmasutra cats symbolize the spark that we all have; all we need to realize this is to be present in the here and now, and not caught up in past or future. The spark is always there, half a breath away;)

Cat Om (Aug 2005)

One of the first ideas that crop up (haha nope, it's not another Buddha painting), was "Wu Xing" or the 5 elements or phases in Chinese thought - Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, Wood. Everything moves and changes - that is the universal truth. We are all living in a constant process of beginnings and endings. Every moment, if you stay still enough, is a letting go of the old and a rebirth of the new. It's unstoppable, from our breath to feelings, thoughts to mental images. They arise and fall away, sometimes naturally, and sometimes we try to hold on to things that have already ended. Either way, there is always an opportunity to learn something new haha ;)

Peace Accord II (July 2005)

So if we are able to see the different cycles (whatever they might be), we can be more attuned to the process of creation and harmony. Sometimes, you wonder why we are so caught up in little things that really don't mean much at all haha! So here's the productive cycle or cycle of life based on laws of mutual support, and restraint. Through the adjustment of Wu Xing, we can maintain or recover normal conditions as we turn the wheel to another cycle of change.


Water nourishes trees and produces wood. Wood acts as a fuel for Fire, which burns to produce ash (earth). Earth produces metal deep within its core; metal collects water and the cycle repeats... And so it goes... ;)

View slide show of these paintings at Artoholic Gallery website

;)

Cat art Catmasutra - Broken Kitty!

A friend of mine went roller-blading one day and there was a little accident and she ended up with a broken leg. I sent her an x-ray n' she said it was her right leg, not left. Later on, she bumped her head and I thought of adding a Handyplast on the cat's head, but thought better of it. We don't want any more damage especially in the head wahahahah! So here's the throwback to the little incident but I prefer the retro-looking roller skates, and she likes pink so voila - broken kitty on skates!

The little accidents in life. One can never plan too much ahead. Just know who you are and where you want to go. Everything else will just follow. Life is a paradox. That much is evident. The more we grasp after something, the harder we have to try to get it. Fear creeps in and keeps us from moving in the right direction. The whole Singaporean psyche is based on security. From the day of her independence, it is about security, or the fear of losing that security. This fear translates to most things we do. Haha But nothing lasts forever so enjoy it while it lasts, whatever it is- even a broken leg!

;)

The Catmasutra Totebag...

Been busy doing a few freelance and commission projects, and my other two exhibitions in June and August are coming up. Yep, I'm gonna be tied up for a bit... Good thing about this 'break' is that you get to choose how you wanna live your day, every day. You get to face your own ups and downs, and know your own mind a little better as you are not 'regulated' or 'distracted' externally. Everything is a cycle and everything changes - that is the only guarantee in life (other than death and taxes). So it's also about training yourself to live in the here and now. That is the only proper way to live. Otherwise, we're just leaking days that we can never recollect because they're not special in any way. Haha the real mystery of life is always in the here and now; in the very least, you'll realize that you're alive to live this day.

Māo, zì dòng
"Cat, Automatic" a literal translation which is a subtle reference to Halo's ability to sleep automatically everywhere. Wahahahah! Now you can get the totebag at CafePress. This is one of my favs and it looks cool on other stuff as well. There are so many things that we do, think, or feel automatically - all seemingly beyond our control. Truth is, they're automatic because we have been practicing them for years (the good and bad stuff)! So if you want to change anything, you just have to change your thought patterns and re-wire them habitually. Negativity, fear and doubt are all useless emotions as they just delay whatever you want to achieve. And it's not a nice way to live haha!

All degrees of success are based on courage- mental or physical.
All degrees of failure are based on timidity
~Prentice Mulford

;)

Catmasutra Cat-art collectibles & goodies!

I've delivered my first batch of Catmasutra goodies! Many thanks to those who are now amongst the first people to own these uber-cute, karmic cat collectibles. I really love the keepsake boxes! They're solidly made as well as the tile coasters. The colors are deep and suit my paintings very well. And now resting on my work table is a Catmasutra Campbell's mousepad - the big grin never fails to put a smile on my face especially when I'm working the mouse haha (yep, even the artist is not immune to this effect). Hmmm...if there's any particular painting that you're interested in, let me know and I'll try to put it up. I'm also putting more and more Catmasutra Earth day designs up towards April 22nd... the higher we go (literally or spiritually), the more we know we are connected in a much bigger way. As the saying goes, the view is always different from above. Whatever we do, we're doing them to ourselves, good or bad.
Now that I've done all these little stuff, I'm thinking of incorporating designs in Catmasutra as well as using the original artworks. It would be good if i could make them locally as it would be cheaper minus the shipping costs and exchange rate. So if any one has lobang locally or regionally, let me know! ;)

On another note, I was surfing for cat stuff and found Cat Power. Now I'm hooked to the song "Lived in bars". Even the video has a natural beauty and rhythm to it. Makes me just wanna throw a party, get high, and float away. Things happen in weird ways, and sometimes when the time is up, we have to let them go - people and things alike - we don't possess anything.

;)