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Okay, I thought my portraits done with seeds were kinda cool, until I saw this... Now I need to level up and get a mountain of seeds, hundreds of chickens and a lone turkey.
Video from Patrick Henry.
Painting with fire on chopsticks! A piece to find beauty in ordinary materials, and celebrate all that Singapore is today and in the days to come.
Facebook wanted a mural on their 10 meter long wall in their Singapore office, and requested that it be made of chopsticks as the space is right beside their cafe (which serves amazing food all day - employees are so lucky!). I wanted to explore bamboo chopsticks as a material and experiment with alternative methods to create murals, so instead of painting on the wall, I decided to set it ablaze. 15,000 bamboo chopsticks were glued, torched, then layered again and burnt a few more times to create depth and dimension to the piece.
This piece depicts the story of the Merlion - a mythical creature with the head of a lion and body of a fish, and its significance as Singapore's national icon. The Merlion is the guardian of Singapore and has protected the country from waves, storms and enemies, from its early days as a village to where it is now. The Merlion is seen smiling as it is looking forward to the the future with enthusiasm and hope.
Big thanks to Mond and Jannette of United Make - UDMK for working on this project with me on the design and construction (shown in video), as well as my team Vanessa Bong, Michael Mack and Sam Koh who illustrated, concept developed and managed this project (not shown in video). The amazing Jootz See of Back Alley Creations for shooting and directing this, and FB head chef Tim Wong for being game enough to act in this video (last-minute request! We actually really did take all of his chopsticks). And a massive thank you to Facebook Singapore for having me create this piece - it was so much fun and I loved working with your team, and in your beautiful office!
ps: Notice the little details - like the boats in his mane and the fisherman on his boat with his Facebook browser on, on his laptop (in reference to internet.org!).
My tool this time? Celery sticks. What did I paint? A bear. Why? Because the bear deserves an Oscar too.
Hah, kidding. Here's my blurb:
Picasso once said that all children are born artists, the problem is how to remain an artist as we grow up. I think we eventually grow out of creativity because we become afraid of making mistakes. For a while now, I've been interested to try painting murals but I've held back because I worry about not being able to create a piece that's good enough. And fear holds us back from being creative.
I tapped into my inner child by experimenting tools that I used as a kid in art class, like stamping with celery sticks. I chose to paint a bear - an animal I used to be afraid of because I had been clawed by a circus bear when I was a kid. The bear represents the fear I have whenever I push myself to create something new, and I've learned that to innovate, I must learn to face that fear. I still think about the circus bear from time to time, and wish that we could have assured each other that there was nothing we had to be afraid of. I'd like to imagine us being friends, perhaps chilling out together with a smoothie.
Thank you Five Plus Smoothie for allowing me to paint your wall and replenishing me with yummy smoothies throughout this project, for Lovebirds Studio for filming this project, for my team (Michael Mack, Rachel Mui, Chui Nee Wong, and Vess Bong) for assisting me, and for those who tuned into live streaming and for those who came by to say hi! #FivePlusBear
You can visit the mural at 265 Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.
***Watch this video with audio fixed here: http://youtu.be/rW-ioVL-5nE
Jackie Chan portrait made of 64,000 CHOPSTICKS! :) Such an honour working with him on this in Beijing!!!
It wasn't easy to choose the material for Jackie's piece. He is a world famous actor, an exceptional martial arts fighter, an environmentalist, and one of the most well-known faces internationally! I finally decided on chopsticks because Jackie had used them in some of the fighting scenes in his movies the Fearless Hyena and Karate Kid, and because chopsticks are Chinese. As he is also an environmentalist, I used disposable bamboo chopsticks to show that discarded materials can be reused and made into something meaningful and beautiful. This art installation is a tribute to the life, art and cultural significance of Jackie Chan.
I spent a month collecting 64,000 chopsticks, in Zhejiang and in Beijing. I tied them into different bundle sizes with strings, and then hung them on a steel frame. This was a hanging piece that had to be suspended with steel cables, so I had to make sure that it was structurally stable enough to carry that many chopsticks. I also hung 60--for Jackie's 60th birthday--bamboo chopstick holders filled with skewers that formed the word 'long' (dragon) because Jackie's name in chinese means "Dragon". The installation is best viewed from the front, where the portrait is most visible. From its side, waves of chopsticks tied in bundles is seen.
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BIG THANKS to Jonathon Lim who directed and edited the video!
http://www.jonathonlim.com
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BIG HUGS to Aggie Ye for all the help and support!!!
http://www.instagram.com/aggie_ye
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I would like to sincerely apologize for the music that was previously on the film. We were notified by G2S (www.g2studio.com) that they created this music on behalf of their client in 2010 and that their client owns the rights to the music. Watch this video with audio fixed here: http://youtu.be/rW-ioVL-5nE
Artwork done just in time for World Cup 2014!! Painting with a soccer ball - portraits of Ronaldo, Neymar and Messi! Subscribe, share and like...let's go crayzay!
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Subscribe/follow for more #redhongyi art!:
OFFICIAL FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/redhongyi
OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM:
http://www.instagram.com/redhongyi
OFFICIAL WEBSITE
http://www.redhongyi.com
OFFICIAL TWITTER
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Directed and edited by:
Jonathon Lim
http://www.jonathonlim.com
Cam Assistant:
Daniel Agha-Rafei
http://www.redstarr.asia
Actors:
Ben Joseph
Baz Robinson http://www.cassia-imports.com
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Thanks to my team Aggie Ye, Bernard Hiew and Cheng Haw for all the help and support!
Bernard:
http://www.instagram.com/bnardhiew
Aggie:
http://www.instagram.com/aggie_ye
Finally got the opportunity to work with the amazing Red Hong Yi on one my my favorite original songs! =)
http://www.youtube.com/ohiseered
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Get Time Machine here! http://bit.ly/WKfA27
Shirts/Hard copy albums @ http://www.NeverSleepStore.com
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Business Inquiries! jasonchenbooking@gmail.com
Official site: http://jasondchen.com
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Stream all my songs online for free on Spotify!
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I love getting mail! Send me some :)
Jason Chen
P.O. Box 2113
Arcadia, CA 91077
Executive Producer: Jason Chen
Director: Paolo Ongkeko
Producer: Don Le (http://www.donlestudio.com)
Co-Producer: Yuri Tag
Writer: Ross Ching
Editor: Ross Ching
Director of Photography: Nate Fu
Love Interest: Red Hong Yi (http://www.redhongyi.com/)
1st AD: Dennis Chang
Production Designer: Yuri Tag
Art director: Red Hong Yi
VFX Supervisor: Ross Ching
Camera Operator/1st AC: Martin Gradek
Gaffer: Jason Poon
Key Grip: Inga Mitiyan
Makeup/Hair/costumer: Lily von Isenberg
BTS Video / Stills: Steven Lam
Production Assistant: Sam Puefua
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Art PA: Dominique Song
Locations: Solar Studios (www.solarstudios.com)
SPECIAL THANKS!: Access Group Media
Send me mail! :)
P.O. Box 2113
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