KYTV P.O.P Station Tour : Singapore 2009

Last weekend I went to see this exhibition at Jendela Arts Space (Esplanade). What interest me if of course, the peculiar costumes and funny poses. :)





But turns out that P.O.P (The Politics of the Popular) is more than that.

It is a satirical approach of the Pop Star-dom creation process. By the application of "standard" pop star-dom manufacturing tools like a music video, a song, and a popular fashion attributes; an instant pop star can be created. Anyone can be a pop star. Including you! :)

And KYTV (Kill Your Television) has set up several P.O.P Station to do just that. They set it up in various cities like Singapore, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bangkok, London & Berlin; providing the necessary expertise/ support for any individuals/ groups who wanted to be recognized in their grandeur, and later on instantly uploads it on Youtube and within 24 hours, you can collect your personal music video to add to your home collection.

via http://kytvpopstation.wordpress.com/about/
and click here if you wanted to see the videos. Pretty hillarious! :)

art scene investigation : I Love You

On my way back from Merlion Park, I walked past the Esplanade, and I saw this particular installation.


The very first thing that caught my eye is the vibrant colors, obviously. And then my brain recognizes the shapes, which is Arabic. And if you read the text carefully, it says simply;


"I Love You"


And so I went in, to see what's this interesting installation is all about.

Turns out it's an installation by Arahmaiani, an Indonesian female artist of Javanese Muslim descent. Very much like myself, but without the 'artist' title :)

I've nothing much to say but I REALLY like this particular installation. It's visually attractive, and the idea behind the work is simply brilliant!




So what's the big idea?



Apparently Arahmaiani wants to dissolve the negative imagery constructed mostly by Western media that Muslim & Islam are a synonym to violence & terrorism. In reality, most Muslims do not tolerate any kind of violence (particularly in the name of religion or Allah); and most do not hate Westerners. The symbol that she took, is the Arabic script, or to be precise, the Malay variation of Arabic script, called Jawi; forming the phrase "I Love You".


Why I Love You?


Because it's a universal sentence which represents the Islamic teaching that the Artist's received from her parents and ancestors; which also represents the real face of Islam.

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some of the text above are taken from the installation's information sheet mixed with my own words. The exhibition will be at the Singapore's Esplanade Concourse, from May 15th to July 5th 2009.