How can artists navigate a new world built on bits and bytes, points and pixels?
It is this question that 12 artists from all-women arts collective Fertile Art Refinery have been trying to answer since February this year.
In an attempt to unravel the trajectories of this accelerated progress, they picked up new tech skills in a collaboration with the National Library Board’s MakeIT space.
The result is A Blip in Time, an ArtxTech exhibition happening at Jurong Regional Library from Apr 1-14. The exhibition is a culmination of their exploration into digital fabrication, robotics, coding, projection mapping and more.
“A little daydream series” by Teo Huey Ling
Among the artists are Agatha Lee “Agy” who asks questions about whether new technology can mimic the meditative process of embroidery; Illa Haziqin who invites us to join her discomfort of zoom meetings in her performative installation of mobile phones; and Teo Huey Ling who marries her prowess in ceramics with 3D printing as a progression in her exploration of form making.
With the library as refuge, all 12 artists use art as an intermediary, a cathartic tool to expose and remap the anxieties around emerging technologies and the very human propensity for the familiar.
The exhibition is supported by the National Arts Council and the National Library Board. Other sponsors include supplier of sustainable reclaimed wood, Creuse, and manufacturer of Made in Singapore laser cutter Craftlaser, LionsForge.
In a lead up to the exhibition, a line-up of artist talks and workshops on sewing and repair, typography, AR filters, animated avatars, designing cat houses and creative storytelling were conducted on the Go Library channel from Mar 13-18.
These are available online in April on the A Blip in Time Facebook Events page here.
