3 Minutes with Shin young Park
Shin-young Park is a Korean-born New Zealander, who moved to Auckland in 1991 with her family. She completed Bachelor degree in1998 and Master degree in 2003 in Fine Arts at the Elam School of Fine Art at the University of Auckland.After moving to Singapore in 2006, Park continues to showcase her print works through art galleries in Singapore, participate in several group shows, overseas exchange shows, art fairs, workshops, international residency programs and charity auctions.
Park has won the “Iris Fisher Art Award (Best Contemporary)” in 2005 in Auckland, nominated as a “most Outstanding Emerging Artist” in Art Singapore 2009 and won the “BAZAAR Singapore Art Prize 2016 (2D on canvas)”. She has also participated in “Incheon Art Platform” residency program in 2014 and “Asia Pacific Artists Fellowship Program” organized by the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul in 2012.
Her works were commissioned by Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Singapore in 2008 and Fullerton Bay Hotel, Singapore in 2010. She is a member of Singapore Printmaking Society, the artists village Singapore and Instinctive.
1) How did you get started on this series?
In this fast paced and digitalized society where everything is constantly changing, I wanted to document my ordinary life in Singapore in a slow manual manner.
2) Why have you entitled each of them this way?
This is from picture diary series. I title the work according to the month and the year I complete the work.
3) Your works express a lot of movement and layers, yet with thoughtful control, is this in any way representative of the multi-cultural background you are from?
Through vivid graphic images of Singapore in tangling overlaid arrangement, I try to capture Singapore’s distinct culture and dynamic lifestyle: diverse but not divided, busy yet orderly, where the best of both Eastern and Western worlds coexist in harmony.
4) What are each of these images, you’ve used to compose each artwork about?
They are elements from everyday life in Singapore. It talks about various race and culture existing in Singapore.
5) Why is there a deliberate use of yellow in “042017”?
I was looking for variety of materials for collage and printing. I used envelope, note pad, cloth and post-it as they were available at that moment.
6) Have you exhibited outside of a traditional art gallery space before? Where was that?
I have exhibited in Capitol piazza, hotel lobby, railway station in Singapore, sake bar in Japan, retail shop in New Zealand.
7) Which artists inspire you?
Antoni Tàpies. I admire the freedom in his painting, spontaneous strokes in his print.
8) What inspires you?
The works shown in this exhibition are more visual. But my other conceptual works are inspired by social injustices and imbalances, and the less privileged people based on the personal experience and observation.
Basic Theory Edition Series
Leaving one’s home to work overseas can be difficult. I can say this from my personal experience, having moved twice from Korea to New Zealand and then to Singapore. It is not easy to assimilate into a new country and to adapt to new customs. Being a small country with limited human resources, Singapore needs the services and the manpower that foreign workers bring. Cleaners, construction workers, domestic helpers from countries such as Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand toil daily in our midst, performing tasks shunned by the general local population. They provide a valuable service that enhances our lifestyle and comfort.
I hope my project will at least give us a chance to appreciate what we have around us, and to offer a glimpse into the lives of foreign workers, so as to enhance our understanding of them. This is a small step we can all take to help the foreign workers to assimilate into our truly multi-cultural society.
Untitled, 2012
Ceramic, Wood & Korean Costume Fabric
2100 x 2100 x 500mm
Shin-young was aspired to create this installation from her experience as an ethnic minority woman in New Zealand. This installation highlights the discrimination faced by Southeast Asian women who marry men from the rural parts of South Korea.
The ball pool, made out of delicate traditional costume fabric, and carefully handmade ceramic balls, emphasizes Korea’s strong cultural and historical pride. Whilst it appears to be inviting, the ball pool does not permit access. As a consequence to Korea’s innate desire to maintain ethnic homogeneity, the ball pool emblematize the restrain of Southeast Asian wives and their mixed-race children from assimilating into the society and also expressing their unique and diverse cultural identities. Thus, it loses its purpose as an interactive playground for kids to socialize, learn about one another and build friendships.
This installation embodies Shin-young’s belief that traditional cultures and customs, while precious, need to evolve and remain accommodative.
9) Are you currently exhibiting anywhere?
I’m currently showing 10 screen print works in France. I’m representing Singapore at “the world triennial of prints and original engravings” at Chamalieres.
10) What's in the pipeline fo 2018?
2017 has been busy with 10 group shows. I have few shows lined up for 2018 already but I would love to look for more overseas exhibition opportunities.
