Since its inauguration in 2001, ONESINGAPORE ARTIST has featured eight Singaporean established artists, notably, Cultural Medallion Recipients, Chng Seok Tin (in 2001) and Han Sai Por (in 2005). This year, in commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of ONESINGAPORE ARTIST, Sculpture Square expands on the theme of Homecoming to coordinate the exhibition with other National Day celebrations in the month of August.
Featuring Dr. Wee Hong-Ling, a prominent Singaporean ceramic artist who has lived and worked abroad mainly in New York, has since carved herself a niche in the American art market. Dr. Wee who originally was a research fellow at NASA, had been living in America for more than a decade, found her passion in the arts during her doctoral research in Geography.
In No Place Like Home, Dr. Wee says, “The craft of making ceramics and clay vessels is one of the oldest arts in human civilization. Yet, despite its long tradition in Asian cultures, ceramic art has not had the chance to develop and advance in Singapore.” Hence, in her first solo exhibition in Singapore, Dr. Wee will use her ceramic creations to attempt to bridge this gap in Singapore visual arts. Further expanding on Home as the domain, where one experiences security and solace in it, to being the center of the creative core of Home. Dr. Wee will design and make ceramic objects for every room in the house, and explore the crossover between sculptural objects and functional art - turning the ordinary into something extraordinary.
As the country looks back at its 46 years of nation-building, No Place Like Home will be a proud showcase of works made by a Singaporean who is flying the national flag high all over the world, making a dramatic impact in the creative arts, and contributing to the repository of Singapore artworks. Held at the Chapel Gallery, Sculpture Square from 30 July to 22 August 2011, No Place Like Home will offer an alternative way of thinking about living spaces where things serve as sources of inspiration for creative ideas, as objects of contemplation, to awaken greater appreciation of art and culture. The idea that something like a teapot is necessary, or indispensable, is insufficient; the object must be important in itself. The installation will contain things that are of great dignity and importance in them, much like Asian ceramic antiquities. The role of each object lies beyond its obvious function. As we search for a sanctuary in this fast-paced world, No Place Like Home urges the viewer to look homeward to find it. The desired impact is for the project to awaken the viewer’s senses in this increasingly technology-driven world to filling a personal space with art and design, and to reconsider the everyday items that are often taken for granted.
This is Dr. Wee Hong Ling’s first solo exhibition in Singapore.
About the Artist
Dr. Wee who originally was a research fellow at NASA, had been living in America for more than a decade, has since carved herself a niche in the American art market. Hence, adding to her resume is a long list of exhibitions she had participated all over the United States, Australia, Japan, Korea, China and Singapore. Among her accolades include the First Prize at ‘Ceramics Biennial 2006’ at The New Hampshire Institute of Art (New Hampshire, USA), an Award of Excellence at the 3rd China-ASEAN Youth Creativity Competition at the Guangxi National Art Center (Nanning, China), an Honorable Mention at the Cheongju International Craft Biennale (Cheongju-si, Korea). In 2006, she was also selected as one of twenty-four Emerging Artists by Ceramics Monthly.
Dr. Wee’s work has been also featured in The Straits Times, The Business Times, Singapore (SIF Magazine), Nu You, Millionaire Singapore, Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, Sing Tao Daily, Ming Pao Daily News and The World Journal. She was also featured in the Beyond The Dot documentary series that aired on Channel News Asia in 2007. Dr. Wee has also held Artist-in-Residence positions at the Vermont Studio Center (Vermont, USA), the Shigaraki Ceramic Institute (Japan), and the Jingdezhen Experimental Factory and Pottery Workshop (China).
Wee’s works are in the permanent collections of the Singapore Art Museum (Singapore), the Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park (Japan), the Fule International Ceramic Art Museum (Fuping, China) and the Guangxi National Art Center (Nanning, China). She is making a dramatic impact upon the field of ceramic arts and in raising the profile of Singaporean ceramics internationally.
