photographers |
Lee Ee Guan |
Tools & Machines – The Other Stars of the Woodcarving Symposium Having shot many photographs describing the artists in action, and the sculptures in their different phases of appearances - the main stars of the woodcarving symposium, Ee Guan did not feel any special about the photographs he has taken. Apart from working with hands, the tools and machines which the artists used have been pivotal in the transformation of each piece of wood. Ee Guan felt they are often in supporting roles, and are somewhat understated in his earlier photographs. On this premise, he diverted his attention to the tools and machines, making these hardworking tools the main highlight of the show. This attempt of transforming ubiquitous tools to works of art, recall Marcel Duchamp’s The Fountain. The tools and machines are sculptures in themselves, as their extrinsic forms are truly aesthetic in appearance. Ee Guan perceives the tools as alluding to tired bodies resting after a hard day’s work. His uncanny but interesting perception injects life to each wood sculpting tool or machine, producing a series of humble pictures of “sculptures” that endear.
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