In a triumph of creativity and innovation over environmental adversity, 20 Singaporean artists have been brought together by The MeshMinds Foundation to share their visions for the sustainable development of people and our planet through a unique online only exhibition. Featuring original artworks with the theme of ‘Sustainable Singapore’ and the Sustainable Development Goals, the exhibition is the first-of-its-kind with artworks being produced with the help of Procreate and other digital tools.
Each artist used AR app Artivive to apply layers of animated storytelling to static artworks in order to draw attention to various environmental issues affecting Singapore and the world at large. Ranging from quick loops to complex narrative stories, each piece delivers a thought-provoking message on a diverse range of environmental themes and issues.
Founder of The MeshMinds Foundation, Kay Vasey, said, “We believe that artists are some of the best placed people on the planet that can use knowledge, creativity and innovation to drive positive transformation in all sectors of society. By guiding artists to harness the power of technology, we can create more engaging works with powerful narratives that can change the world.”
André Wee is an experimental illustrator known for combining art and technology to raise awareness of environmental issues. His work Pangolin brings his theme of ‘conservation is possible without cages’ to life wonderfully well. His obviously well-honed illustrative talents are heightened by deft storytelling and impressive animation. Contrasting soft, vibrantly colored organic brush strokes with stark lo-fi digital black and white imagery helps caps off what is a well-constructed and impactful looping story of nature versus humanity.
The vivid colors and vibrancy of Wolfsloth’s, Ocean of Devotion instantly draws you in and breaths a lot of life into the piece even before the AR experience plays out. While the animation loop is simple, it demonstrates the pain of biodiversity loss in an impactful and visceral way that a static art piece never could.
The longest, and easily most obtuse, AR experience is You Can’t Find Fish in Space by Alfonsus Wong. This piece takes you on a bittersweet journey from the ocean to outer space to highlight the very pressing issue of diminishing worldwide fish stocks. By contrasting the similarity between a diving bell and a space suit, Wong is able to jump the audience from present day to a future where you can’t find fish (in space). This is clever visual storytelling illustrated in a wonderfully naive but beautiful manner reminiscent of a child’s storybook.
In a year that has made holding events of all kinds difficult, if not impossible, an online exhibition like Sustainable Singapore doesn’t just give everybody the chance to discover great art and artists. It also allows for a locally produced and themed exhibition to safely gather and get its important environmental message out to an audience not just in Singapore, but globally.
Running from 5-19 September, you can experience this unique and ground breaking exhibition in the comfort of your own home anywhere in the world on a computer and your phone or iPad through the free Artivive app. All you need do is head to artcity.sg and follow the instructions.