a belated announcement!

this announcement comes a little late but a few months back i finally launched a facebook page which admittedly is updated much more often than this little blog. ;]

here's the link to the facebook page >>>

facebook.com/chiayanweiatworkandatplay

i hope you'll continue to follow my updates over there too!

it's been a tough but ultimately good year with interesting work, many changes, journeys near and far as well as precious time spent with loved ones. thank you for your support, friendship and love over the years. have a blessed new year ahead!

after watching Beginners // 20th august 2011

watching the character draw fireworks in the movie reminded me that i used to draw these fireworks a lot when i was younger too. we even drew them with crayons in art class and then painted black poster paint over them, creating the night. tonight's sparklers from our annual adhoc lantern adventure brought me back to this drawing again. :]

girl singing out loud on the train // 28th july 2011

i saw and heard a girl wearing earphones singing out loud on the train yesterday. there were some premature aunties about to tsk and tut at her but i thought it was a nice moment.

i didn't want her to stop so i didn't pull out my camera but took out my notebook and drew the scene instead.

a little bit of everything // 2nd to 7th may 2011, seminyak, bali

walking around bali, we saw these banana leaf trays of flowers and little samplings of food pretty much everywhere. they are offerings made by the balinese twice a day.

i was fascinated with the variety of colours, food and flowers and the tiny portions reminded me of finger food served at cocktail receptions. it seemed to me like each square tray was a summary or a sample selection of whatever was cooking in the kitchen or fresh in the garden that day and perhaps quite telling of the family or person who had prepared that offering.

moss // 7th may 2011, ngurah rai international airport

once upon a youngerthattime, i went on a trip to bogor, indonesia, as a pseudo-scientist to learn more about mosses, lichens and liverworts. seeing these growing on a statue at the airport in bali during a recent holiday reminded me of that trip to bogor.

from one little red dot to the big red dot (part two)

jiayou japan!!

from one little red dot to the big red dot

these are some drawings i did in my sketch book while preparing photographs and write-ups i am contributing to a fund raising event that my friend (and moms) chris yap is organising to bring together various artists and art forms in our community for a good cause.

i hope the sun will rise again after the waves subside. jiayou japan!

(please pardon my pirated hokusai + that japanese wave pattern i was trying to recall quite unsuccessfully...that would be my wandering mind wondering about how waves have been quite a recurring feature of their art history. i hope we will all still be able to find the ocean and its waves beautiful again someday.)

undue importance (work-in-progress//a series begins)

what happens when we accord something ordinary with undue importance?

light sparkling on the water surface,

a stray plastic bag aglow with the setting sun,

and perfectly embedded leds signalling the arrival of the train.

these are things we never quite pay attention to in our daily walks but yet are the very bits and pieces that form our everyday memories.

i begin to see in this series the unobvious things i am increasingly drawn to when i walk about with my camera.

droplets 10:11pm, 3:11pm + the day after

10:11pm, 3:11pm 26th jan 2011.


retraced the day after - 9:13am, 2:13am 27th jan 2011.

(think i overestimated myself when i said that i was getting used to you being away.)

may time fly faster! for now...

meanwhile, drawing is definitely therapeutic. :]

drawings//colouring by 姑姐 and yw

fish and duck by 姑姐.


duck and fish by yw.


duck and chicken by 姑姐.


goose draft by 姑姐.


goose by 姑姐.


happy crab by yw.


tree when troubled. 5+ am 3rd june 2009.


virus friends when suspected to have been exposed to H1N1. 25th june 2009.




fishes for 姑姐 to colour. drawn in the dark while staying over in SGH. 16th oct 2010. colouring completed by 姑姐 at home on 6th nov 2010.



my auntie drew for me and taught me to draw when i was a kiddo. i remember it was mostly fishes in various forms and often in great detail, based on pictures she saw in magazines or the fish we happened to be eating for dinner that day. i can't find any of those earlier drawings but a few years back i thought to start my aunt drawing again and it became a bit of a back and forth dialogue between us.

she was hospitalised recently. i didn't really know how to make her feel better and was feeling quite down myself but just instinctively brought this sketchbook we've been using along to the hospital when i stayed over with her and drew in the dark when it was impossible to sleep.

24 hour may day getaway // 1st to 2nd May 2010

our 24 hour passport stamping excursion to a nearby island...

麻雀虽小，五脏居全 !

thankfully we've still managed go on our (at least) once a year IDiotic Travel Agency adventures two years after graduating, even if it was only for 24 hours...

ayam goreng, bebek goreng, keropokness, jus alpokat, A&W, $23 healthy spa massage, good sleep, sparkling sea, morning crawls in somewhat oily waters, passport stamped - nothing more to ask for really!

后会有期！

scalloped sky en route to genting on your camera // 14th to 18th june 2010

thank you for being someone who would lend a photographer a camera! :]

又是黄花的季节。。。

＊ ＊ ＊

今天下了一场突如其来的大雨。

我从友人的店在雨中步行到图书馆，在久违的 Level 8 看书。

在回家的路上决定试一试新的路程，试搭 Circle Line。

走着走着，突然在雨后的 Bras Basah 地铁站外发现又是黄花的季节了。。。

令我想起 Telok Kurau 小学体育场雨后的黄花地毯。。。

＊ ＊ ＊

你今天去了哪里呢？

来啊来啊: Chennai Chutney

dear family and friends + other secret readers again,

some of my works from a workshop trip i was involved in last december will be part of an exhibition called Chennai Chutney that is opening

this tuesday 23rd feb 2010, 7.30pm to 9.30pm at Objectifs (56A Arab Street).

as part of the workshop process, our instructor had a fair bit of control over what was finally selected from the pool of images we gathered over those 5 days in Chennai and Mahabalipuram so you might find that it’s a little different from what i would usually put together for a final selection but i am really also learning to learn from how others see and work with my pictures.

the pictures were selected in a manner that should tell you not only about Chennai but also clue you in on the personality and vision of each of the 8 photographers.

please drop by if you can, have a look and learn along with me!

do let me know if you are coming for the opening so that we can be well-stocked with enough food and drinks for you. :]

thanks and i hope to see you this tuesday!


yan wei


* * *

You are invited to Chennai Chutney!



There is no Taj Mahal or Bollywood to capture the imagination of the would-be tourist to Chennai. In fact, one may at first glance conclude that Chennai is rather like chutney - a spicy vegetarian preparation that is merely an accompaniment to the main courses that are Agra and Mumbai. Looking beyond, however, the visitor is allowed the rare opportunity, amidst an intensely media-opinionated culture, to experience the city from a fresh perspective – his/her own.

Chennai Chutney features images by participants of the workshop led by US-based photo-essayist David H Wells. The photographers - Birgit Voogt, Eleanor Ng, Karen and Laurie Murrell, Duff Hughes, Ulla Gratton, Chia Yan Wei and Su Yen Chen – hailing from 6 different countries of origin and located across three continents - nevertheless blended incredibly well together in five days in December 2009.

From admiring ancient temples to ducking for cover from the unexpected heavy rains, the group got an unforgettable taste of the diverse flavours of daily life in Tamil Nadu state’s capital. It is hoped that the images in this exhibition likewise capture the spirit and soul of this sometimes sour, sometimes sweet, but always spicy city.

Photographers: Birgit Voogt, Eleanor Ng, Karen and Laurie Murrell, Duff Hughes, Ulla Gratton, Chia Yan Wei and Su Yen Chen

Opening reception: 23rd Feb 2010, 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Exhibition will run from 24th Feb – 23rd March 2010
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 11am - 7pm, Sat 12pm - 6pm

Venue:
Objectifs
56A Arab Street
Singapore 199573
t. +65 6293 9782
f. +65 6293 9723
e. info@objectifs.com.sg
w. http://www.objectifs.com.sg

For directions to Objectifs:
http://www.objectifs.com.sg/contact.htm

We hope to see you then!

"I won't be making much from this photo fair. Just come and see, and bring a print home you just might!"

hello family and friends and other secret readers,


i will be selling a selection of my work at the Affordable Photo Fair at Objectifs (56A Arab St) this saturday 21st nov from 11am to 7pm. most will be from the i would be happy to see you guys around so do come by if you can!

if you are unable to come by on saturday or would like a preview of the works that will be on sale, do let me know and I'll send a pdf catalogue over to you.

there will be 13 photographers selling work at this fair and all prints will be priced at $300 and below so it's a good chance to be inspired by a wide range of fresh works and perhaps even collect some!

do send some generous and interested eyes over too if you know any. :]

thanks and hope to see you this saturday!

and yep, i should really stop overdosing on the "i don't remember much about that holiday. just you and me, and that beautiful dappled light" sentence structure.

see you tomorrow!



yan wei


***




You are invited to The 4th Affordable Photo Fair!

Look, learn and leave with local art!

Whether you are starting as a new collector or buying a gift for someone, the wide range of works you will find at the Affordable Photo Fair are original and unique. Best of all, it's a great chance to speak to the artist about his inspiration and how to care for the artwork.

Carefully selected by Objectifs, this small but exciting event promises a diverse variety of photography styles, from conceptual photography, to travel, documentary and fine art by both established and emerging photographers.

Participating Photographers include:
Angeline Tng // Phua Boon Wah // Dennis Ng // Jean Qingwen Loo // Choo Meng Foo // Nurul Huda // Philipp Aldrup // Sophie Jarry // Shaun Tan // Lim Swee Cheng // Ulla Gratton // Chia Yan Wei

. Date: Nov 21, Sat
. Time: 11am - 7pm
. Venue: Objectifs - Centre for Photography and Filmmaking (56A Arab Street, corner of Arab Street and Baghdad Street)

For more information, visit http://www.objectifs.com.sg/apf

Hope to see you then!