The limits of the creative world are unbound, just like the limits of the vast skies are infinitely more wide-reaching than our eyes can see. But more enticing are the clouds, the ever-changing and diverse shapes that litter our blue or orange skies, keeping us warm and protected from the atmosphere beyond Earth.
It also is an age-old source of inspiration that proves even more significant in our current day and age. Beyond questioning what it means to dematerialise in a material world, clouds bring to mind the heavier notions of what climate change has in store for humanity. They may or may not look like the same ethereal or brooding beings we perceive them to be today, but this dreamy yet weighted topic has kindled a rich body of work that manifests in the Nuages exhibition presented in collaboration between Marina Design Works, Olal Art and Clementine de Forton Gallery, at 63 Spotts Art Gallery.
Featuring works by artists hailing from Europe and Asia, clouds are explored via a vast range of mediums that include works of photography, painting, perforated paper, acrylic installations and ceramic.
In some works, the cloud is representative of freedom, a manifestation of memory and creativity that is explored simply via light. Linette Cajou’s “Nuages Serie” is inspired by pareidolia, which is a tendency to impose meaning — her paintings invite us to travel free in her imagination, bringing us to inner and outer worlds between dream and reality. Hélène Le Chatelier’s “Missing Part” on the other hand explores how even the heaviest memories can be made poetic and lightened, her meditative process of softening paper part of the restful serenity that comes with her paper sculptures.
In “Horizons Limited”, Mona Choo takes her long-term research on consciousness and develops a series that explores the limitations of our three physical dimensions, inspired by Platon allegory of the cave but creating without a fixed end product in mind. This gives way to unlimited experimentation, which is why her multimedia works investigate the elusive nature of reality with such freedom.
However, there are works that also exist to celebrate the form they are in. Laur Meyrieux’s “Crumpled Papers” explores the fragility of paper, the traditional technique of shibori anchoring her textile experimentation with a sensitivity to the natural relationships Asian papers have with inks and natural powders. Mylène Viggers’ “Flamboyant Heavens” captures the beauty of sunsets in her
whimsical yet realistic plein air paintings of the skies seen around Singapore, while Andy Yang’s “Whispering Winds” abstractly paints what clouds mean to him in his characteristically rhythmic and voluptuous strokes.
Clouds are also explored beyond the canvas. Yang Yong Liang’s “Imagined Landscapes” marks a breakthrough in his understanding of art under the impact of a pandemic year, his calligraphic digital art showcasing a place of warmth devoid of the heaviness he had caught himself feeling from getting too comfortable in his sanctuary of his own works. Liu Xuanqi’s modern graphic “Cloud” series plays with the idea of permanence and the temporal, taking pop culture icons to relay the tension that arises at the crossroads of rapid globalisation.
Nuages also showcases Charlotte de Charentenay’s “Clouds Ceramics”, inspired by the inner beauty of nature through recalling the forms and motion of clouds, their weightlessness and fragile textures grounded and made alluring by the sensual feeling of modelling clay. Benjamin Deroche’s “Surnature – Memories” uses poetic photographs and floating “paper clouds” to challenge the perception of space, the wildness of his grand landscapes and the temporality of his paper sculptures encouraging the viewer to isolate in contemplation and meditation — two spiritual processes that give him the ability to create.
Marina Design Works, Olal Art and Clementine de Forton Gallery are part of the Totem Art Collective, a group of French and Chinese art consultants and gallerists in Singapore that wish to foster more international art collaborations within Asia. The Nuages exhibition is open until 25 September, at 63 Spotts Art Gallery.
On 15 September, the art gathering will be held at Spottswood Gallery and Art Porters Gallery with three exhibitions to discover simultaneously.
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