Exhibition at Nilo Gallery, Shanghai

Portraits of Nature V – 探索热带雨林与人文思想

A continuation in the exploration of nature in watercolor as a vehicle to express the eternal nature of things, referencing the value of Dao. In the opening chapter of Dao De Jing, it was said that the Dao that can be named is not the eternal Dao, the Name that can be Name is not the eternal name, as such it is really a challenge to capture the eternal nature of things – it is illusive. The series attempts to capture this illusive nature of things, writing its myriad forms and intangibilities.

The process is one of observation of nature and a series of thought process follows by a quick succession of brush strokes to capture the immediacy of the feeling that is dwelling inside my being and the being of nature. It is through this unity and oneness that the brushes, the strokes, the water, the colours and paper, they come into being, germinating into a piece of work. The works are a reflection of the being of nature and my state of being at a particular moment, which is unique in its occurrence. The works convey the eternal theme of the nature of things expressed through the imageries of plants and trees from the garden and forest of Singapore. They are figments of time and space, with the geo-location of Singapore, the Garden City. It is also an expression of my love for life as art and my country.

这是延续探索自然的第五系列，以热带雨林为载体，表达道与自然的永恒规律。虽然道德经第一章中提到：“道可道，非常道；名可名，非常名。有名为万物之始，无名为万物之母”，道难以琢磨，难以言说，难以表达，但尝试理解并以水彩画捕捉道法自然，已足以丰富我的内心世界。

创作过程先是观察自然，进行一系列的思考与构思，随后用画笔快速连贯地捕捉那刹那间内心对自然的感悟。正是通过这种快捷而流畅的动作，笔、划、水、水彩与纸张相互交融，演变成一幅幅瞬间的创作。它是某一时刻自然与我的存在，微妙和谐，唯一无二。

作品通过新加坡花园与森林中植物与树木的形象捕捉自然的永恒主题。它们是地处美丽的新加坡花园城市的某时刻和某空间的影像残骸，同时也是我对生活作为艺术和对国家的热爱与情感表达。在这里，水彩绘画成为一种探究道与自然之间关系的载体，将它们的千变万化和非物质性展现出来，呈现出万物本质的永恒主题。

TIong Bahru – a clear blue day

The sky has always been an important factor when I am shooting architecture or documenting the streetscape of a place. Nothing looks more attractive than having the building stack against the purest blue backdrop. For the whole of April it has been a lot of rain every day. In early May we begin to see a tinge of blue sky, but the blue was not intense enough. It was in this mid-May that I spotted the crispy blue which I could not resist shooting a series on Tiong Bahru Blue. I am loving the blue and how much wonder it could bring to the composition. My mind is working hard to see how I could bring the inside of the interiors and integrate it with the outside blue. In my mind scape I have begun to conjure that pictorial landscape. I will paint with the digital camera and the digital application! Experimentation and merging digital camera and creativity is my preoccupation. One never gets bored when the mind is always curious, investigating and experimenting. Most of all getting the feedback and support from friends and fans are very encouraging. THANKS ALL. 
A series of photos of Tiong Bahru in Saturated Blue.The Monograph and postcard will be available at Orange Thimble and One Olive soon. Watch out for the launch.For prints please email choomengfoo@gmail.com it takes 1-2 weeks 
All rights reserved for the Photographs published here, for any use please seek permission from choomengfoo@gmail.com

TIong Bahru – a clear blue day

The sky has always been an important factor when I am shooting architecture or documenting the streetscape of a place. Nothing looks more attractive than having the building stack against the purest blue backdrop. For the whole of April it has been a lot of rain every day. In early May we begin to see a tinge of blue sky, but the blue was not intense enough. It was in this mid-May that I spotted the crispy blue which I could not resist shooting a series on Tiong Bahru Blue. I am loving the blue and how much wonder it could bring to the composition. My mind is working hard to see how I could bring the inside of the interiors and integrate it with the outside blue. In my mind scape I have begun to conjure that pictorial landscape. I will paint with the digital camera and the digital application! Experimentation and merging digital camera and creativity is my preoccupation. One never gets bored when the mind is always curious, investigating and experimenting. Most of all getting the feedback and support from friends and fans are very encouraging. THANKS ALL. 
A series of photos of Tiong Bahru in Saturated Blue.The Monograph and postcard will be available at Orange Thimble and One Olive soon. Watch out for the launch.For prints please email choomengfoo@gmail.com it takes 1-2 weeks 
All rights reserved for the Photographs published here, for any use please seek permission from choomengfoo@gmail.com

Street Photography

Smile and they did it willingly. Here are some of the smiling people.

Portraits of Nature II

Investigating the nature of things through the medium of watercolors. Perhaps returning to its source, wondering about the idea of the indestructibility of the source. In its indestructibility perhaps is a certain absolute and eternity. And perhaps the truth is in this absolute and unchangeable eternity. Eternity in the sense of the absolute which could cut across time, unrestrained or limit by it. How then would one paint that absolute using nature as a vehicle and watercolor as the medium? What is that source and that absolute?

Very often I have been asked what is Art, as many would prefer a painting to be a copy of what we see. It is good if there is a great amount of likeness between the real and the painted.

总是觉得很多所谓的不一样的知识都有它的连贯性，摄影，画画，哲学，文学，设计，心理学等。宇宙的运作是有一定的规律，它从无而运行为有，我们把它种种的有归纳为种种不一样的学科，简单化后可能我们就能察觉它的规律。了解了我们就能安下心来，来去自如。

Documenting the Pigs

My uncle used to own a pig farm until the pig epidemics spread into the town and every pig farm had to cull their pigs. The pig farmers were also banned from rearing pigs. This was the only few photographs I had taken when I was a teenager. Those were the negative days and films were expensive and we were less likely to be trigger happy and fire away the shots. I am glad that I documented them in film.