Just a brief summary of the field trips I attended:
Nguan talk at SIPF: Organised this field trip with Kaitlyn; More info at the post here.
DNA Sampling with Prof John Phillips: We visited prof’s lab and he briefed us about the various processes of DNA Sampling and showed us the machine and technology used at the lab. Most interestingly, he showed us his own portable studio that came in a big luggage looking box. (Pictures below)
In-Process; a collection of the making of: This was an exhibition by graduating NAFA students and the content of the exhibition was really useful for inspiring and showing different ways to document – also general ideas that very interesting like different forms of architecture or product designs. (Pictures were not allowed)
I organised a field trip to the Red Dot Museum (located near MBS) on September 25th.
“The Red Dot Design Museum’s permanent exhibition, “A Preview of the Future – Red Dot Award: Design Concept” initiates guests into the mindset of good design. It showcases more than 345 award-winning design concepts.”
Hence I thought that it would be extremely relevant as we started laying the groundwork in conceptualising and designing our wearable studios. The trip was incredibly fruitful was it was inspiring to see how design can make everyday things into art and bring functionality into our lives.
Safety helmetDress or a bag? This was so quirky – take naps on the go!Interactive robotIs it a lamp? Is it a book?Spine of the lamp – Charmaine and I subsequently used this idea to support the structure of our prototype. Group picture!
Field trip 2: Making moisturisers and insect repellents
Tools/materials needed: – Small containers – Glass rod – Stainless steel pot – Essential oils – Moisturizer base
Theo started off the workshop by explaining to us where the ingredients for his products are sourced from, and some of the benefits of the different essential oils such as anti-oxidizing properties or those that can help you to sleep better!
Various essential oils on display
Theo started off the workshop by explaining to us where the ingredients for his products are sourced from, and some of the benefits of the different essential oils such as anti-oxidizing properties or those that can help you to sleep better!
The process first begins with customizing our moisturizer with a preferred scent using a combination of essential oils like ylang ylang, lavender, mint and rose. No more than 10 drops of essential oil should be used and they we were given a metal circular container to put them in.
Subsequently, Theo scooped a premade mix of jojoba, extra virgin coconut oil, aloe vera and glycerin which is the base for the moisturizer.
The moisturiser base is kept in the steel pot to ensure that it remains warm
Following that, we mixed the essential oils and the base with a glass rod while it was still warm to make sure that the essential oils would be fully blended together with the base before it solidifies.
Lastly, let we let the mixture cool and popped the lid on!
Next up, Theo walked us through how his insect repellent is different and how it was concocted. It was his secret recipe + water + added essential oils to mask the smell.
Workshop 3 – SG food rescue
SG Food Rescue saves veggies and fruits from being thrown away. These includes fruits and veggies that were not in the perfect conditions for sale, but still largely edible! We went to Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre on 4 October 2018 for our rescue mission.
After rescuing the vegetables, they are first distributed among Food Rescuers for their own consumption. Subsequently, the majority of the rescued fruits and vegetables are channelled to soup kitchens and charitable organisations that feed the needy.
It was interesting to learn and understand that we might have been “Supermarket” washed by believing that only fruits and vegetables that are deemed to be perfect and free from flaws are edible. There is nothing wrong with a little flaw. 😉
This was my favourite field trip out of the 4 that I attended. It was a hands-on workshop and we got to take away our DIY products home.
The workshop was lead by Theodore, the founder of Theo10, to design and create our very own moisturizer and insect repellent, which are also the products that Theo10 is known for. He provided us with the necessary tools and taught us how to create our own concoctions. We experimented and went through many trial and errors to create our own unique scented products. Overall it was really fun, but we also learnt that the process is not easy.
2. “A Preview of the Future – Red Dot Award: Design Concept”
The designs exhibited in this exhibition were simply out of this world! From furniture to technology, and also wearables, the exhibition showcases design concepts from designers/inventors all over the world – all of which whose concepts have been awarded an award. Many of the design concepts were very futuristic and innovative, which aims to solve a problem and or to make lives of users easier. I felt that it was very similar to what we are trying to achieve in our Design Fiction module. The exhibition was very inspiring for us in the creation of our own projects.
This was my favourite display at the exhibition! It’s an interactive robot named Pudding! It reacts to your commands and questions as you speak to it. Pudding only converses in Mandarin though.
3. In-Process A collection of the making-of.
The main focus of this exhibition is on the design process of NAFA student’s creations, instead of the final product. The entire design process was heavily documented and laid out for visitors to see, but I do not deny that the final products themselves were all very creative and amazing. The exhibition allowed us to experience the designers’ thought process which inspired their creations which I thought that it was very cool! Also, it showed me that a lot of hard work goes into beautiful documentation for presentations.
4. 1+1 DM Staff Show 2018
This exhibition showcases creations of Design and Media lecturers of NAFA. The two works that I enjoyed were two books that were on display:
I loved the idea of the creation of a storybook for blind children.I simply enjoyed reading this piece! The message of the story was very meaningful.
I went on 3 field trips throughout the semester and here is my summary of it! The first field trip was to the Red Dot Musuem, the second was Nguan’s Artist talk and the last was to a solo trip to a Makkoli Musuem.
Red Dot Musuem
This trip was enjoyable for me because the museum featured a lot of design innovations in everyday life and I was thoroughly intrigued!
Light installation that faded in and out in respond to Touch.Really like this storage/coin box that features a seamless edge and muted pastel tones!But my absolute favourite would be this fella robot here called Pudding. It looks adorable and is able to sentiently reply me in a conversation! Was shocked when i requested to take a photo and its face transformed into a camera screen!I think we all enjoyed ourselves quite a bit.
2. Nguan Artist talk
As part of the Singapore Photography Festival, Nguan, the photographer known for his trademark pastel, almost whimsical street photography of Singapore had his artist talk. Making use of festival pass from my Photojournalism mod, I went for the talk on a Saturday morning at National Design Centre.
I think what intrigued everyone was putting a face to Nguan. Unlike most creatives and artists who brand themselves through their work, Nguan remains to be very low-profile and humble. He later tells us that making himself recognisable especially in small Singapore, would make taking photos inconvenient for him and less naturalistic.
Nguan mentions how his editing is intentionally pastel as he wanted to mimick a sort of childrens book but with darker undertones. His main influence is Steven Shaw. Some inspired Nguan-ified shots taken with Celine after the talk!
3. Makkoli Gallery
This was sort of grouped together with my practitioner exercise as well, I went to a makkoli gallery to find out more about the traditional Korean wine as well as try the workshop
The many different kinds pf packaging and flavors!I thought this bottle design was pretty cool and intricate.
We also got to try lots of makkoli in a different flavors > really an eye-opener
Overall, I’ve summarised the field trips and i had a great time in all 3 of them!
As part of the Singapore International Photography Festival (SIPF), Nguan was a speaker as part of the Artist Talks that was held on 29 September at the National Design Centre.
From the website: “In his decade-spanning series Singapore, Nguan turns his camera on his native city and reimagines the adolescent nation as an iconic dream landscape. The work examines themes of longing, discombobulation and regret, evoking the narrative complexity of daily Singaporean life while adhering to a meticulous palette of delicate hues. The resultant photographs are meant to seem disquieting yet naive and mythical but true.”
This field trip was organised by Ng Yixian Jo-Ann (A0142014B) and Ho Koon Yee Kaitlyn (A0143645E) and attended by 13 other classmates of ours.
Nguan sharing his childhood and how that might have influenced his current photography style in retrospect.
Nguan structured the talk by first listing various elements that he personally adapted for his photographs and how they helped create the dreamlike shooting style he is known for. Behind every shot, there were interesting anecdotes – such as stories behind certain shots and people recognizing themselves in his pictures. He also mentioned various ‘pain points’ of shooting public subjects and waiting for the right lighting. In addition, he also provided more insight into his books, such as how “How Loneliness Goes” was somewhat of a prelude to his most recently published “Singapore” and the various struggles he had to deal with. At the end of the talk, there was a Q&A session where he answered questions that touched on things like the importance of social media in boosting his existence as a photographer, personal inspirations, and his intentional lack of presence within his photos.
Nguan’s choice of camera – the Fuji 6×9 Medium Format – that he has faithfully stuck (having gone through 7 of them so far) to for most of his photography journey.
After leaving the venue, Jo-Ann managed to have a one on one conversation with Nguan to ask exactly how he moved around photographing. He clarified that he only brought his camera, 2 pockets worth of film (around 10 rolls) and as of late, his tripod. No bag. When asked why, he mentioned that he felt it was cumbersome to have a bag on him which might get in the way since he is always moving about.
His choice of camera has remained the same for many years now – a medium format Fuji 6×9. However, for no special reason. He’s grown accustomed to the tool and simply sees it as ‘sufficient’. Other interesting points he mentioned during the chat was when he clarified that this form of photography is merely his hobby and he does not depend on this for his livelihood.
All in all, it was an inspiring talk littered with humorous moments from Nguan himself, providing a closer look into the mind of a local photographer so popular, his name has become an adjective.
We organised a trip to Gillman Barracks for their Art After Dark event, the art precinct’s signature open house event that doubled as a 6th anniversary celebration. Involving artist open studios, exhibition openings, artist talks, and music performances, it allowed us to find out more about various artistic practices through the night.
A list of those who attended the field trip are: – Teo Zi Lin (Organiser) – Jhnn Ymn (Organiser) – Vashon Tnee Rihao – Joey Ng Zhi Yu – Reyna Mae Tamonan Corrales – Leong Jia En, Tracy
Artist Open Studios
The NTU Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) held their Residencies OPEN with the Art After Dark event, allowing us a glimpse into the creative process for a range of artistic practices, from found object to animation to soundscape.
It was particularly interesting to note the varying modes with which the artists utilised the studio spaces accorded to them — some simply used projections and screens in a largely empty studio space, while others crammed the space with in-progress sculptural works, texts, and objects. These differing methods suggested the highly individualised manner with which practitioners used studio spaces.
Journey of a Yellow Man. Selected Materials from the Independent Archive at The LabLee Wen, World Class Society, 1999-2000/2018, Video, soft sculpture, badges, questionnaire, dimensions variableLee Wen, World Class Society, 1999-2000/2018, Video, soft sculpture, badges, questionnaire, dimensions variableLuca Lum’s impasse to verbal at The VitrineLuca Lum’s impasse to verbal at The VitrineLuca Lum’s impasse to verbal at The Vitrine
I organised a field trip with SG Food Rescue to save some veggies and fruits from their fate of going into the thrash bins at Pasir Panjang Wholesale Centre. The field trip happened on 4 October 2018, from 10am to 2pm.
A list of those who attended the field trip are:
Teo Zi Lin (Organiser)
Allison Kapps
Yau Wee Nee
Vashon Tnee Rihao
Joey Ng Zhi Yu
Stephanie Yeo Xin Yi
Wendy Neo Hui Ting
We approached shopkeepers and wholesalers and asked them to give us the vegetables and fruits that they no longer want. These included fruits and veggies that were not in the perfect conditions for sale, but still largely edible. Such veggies and fruits were first distributed among Food Rescuers for their own consumption. The majority of the collection then got channelled to soup kitchens and charitable organisations that feed the needy. Below are some pictures of the field trip!
It was a bustling period for wholesalers even on a Thursday morning.A typical scene of what happens when a wholesaler sorts out their goods.We saved several tonnes of fruits and veggies in a mere 2 hours. We were frankly shocked by the amount of food wastage in the food supply chain. If these were initially fated to be in the bins in just 2 hours, imagine the amount of perfectly edible food thrown away everyday. That’ll be as much as Mount Faber in just a couple of months!Working hard to load the rescued veggies and fruits into the truck for transport!Group photo to celebrate our very bountiful fruits and veggies rescue!
I went on 3 field trips throughout the semester, the first being an Artist Talk by Nguan, the second being the Food Rescuers volunteer mission, and the third being a Watercolor observation at NTU. Here are some pictures from the three events:
During the recess week, I visited a workshop conducted by Theo10 with a few other classmates. The workshop conductor, Theodore, guided us through the process of making moisturizers and insect repellents that can be customized to serve different purposes.
Workplace Documentation:
The workplace for the workshop was generally well organised and was simplified to only include the bare minimum equipment that’s needed to conduct the workshop. However the actual factory or workplace houses a myriad of different machinery and technologies that helps develop the product in the most efficient and accurate manner which is a key aspect in the process. Taking the insect repellent we made for example, Theodore mentioned that is it crucial that we get the measurement of 10ml of water and 2ml of base (company’s secret ingredient) right, if not the repellent we make will not work.
Key Tools Used:
Pipette
Measuring cylinder
Temperature Measuring Stick
Glass Rod (to mix the mixture)
Heater
Cooking Pot
Pipettes
Essential Oil in glass bottles
Spray Containers
Spoon to scoop mixture
Process Documentation:
Moisturizer – We started off by learning how to make our very own customized moisturizer. The moisturizer base is a white cream, made up of Coconut oil, Jojoba, and Aloe Vera. Theodore heated up the mixture for us to melt the cream before having us add the essential oils into the mixture, using the glass rod to mix it well. For me I chose a combination of lavender and rose scent, due to personal preference to their smell and its individual benefits.
Insect Repellent – For the insect repellent, the process was a lot more complicated whereby more measuring tools such as the pipettes and water beaker were used. The base for the insect repellent was a concoction developed by Theo10 and we were supposed to add 2 ml of it through the pipette to 10ml of water before adding essential oils to mask the smell. The smell of that base was overpowering, smelling a lot like fish sauce so all of us had difficulties trying to mask the smell with the different essential oils.
Pain Points: One pain point that Theodore mentioned was that this profession often requires a lot of trial and error in order to develop an actual working product. When he first started out, his insect repellent prototype actually ended up attracting more mosquitoes when he applied it. In general, it was also difficult to carry all the equipments outdoors as there are just too many tools required.
Personally I think as of now its not something that is mobile, but in the near future, it would definitely be beneficial if this profession could be mobile as the products developed could serve so many different types of purposes such as relieving eczema and cuts, which is perfect for outfields and more!
