Colours of Comple-X-city is Danya Yu’s debut solo exhibition that is both retrospective and prospective. Besides presenting a new collection of her signature style on rain and lights, she also showcases some rare paintings concerning dynamic relationships among spaces, objects and people.
About the exhibition:
Growing up as a third culture kid, “transition” and “transcendence” are continually emphasised in the artist’s paintings. Be it a moment of travel, lit-up sky-scrapers, disappearing watermark on the curbs, or temporarily occupied cafe seats. Yet, even in the paintings of quiet settings, lights and shadows are dramatised, evoking an unsettling sense of foreboding or mystery.
In this series which the artist explored extensively on rain and city lights, the concrete structures of buildings are masked by warm glows, running reflections and the glares from the car lights. The portrayed space is thus fantasised, morphing into something almost intangible, a parallel to her loss of root culture and, in turn, reaching for solace and re-identification in a temporary residence.
“Back-alley” is a body of work that the artist has been expanding since 2014. The phrase “back-alley” was originated from “slums”. However, the narrow lanes of Singapore are far from their original meaning. It is where tropical vines crawled up onto the aged back doors, homemakers and maids gather to chit-chat, restaurant staff and office workers have a smoke break, the elderly play chess and cats play hide and seek. In a metropolis, front streets are like infinite masquerades charming the world with their artificial glamour, speed and complexity. Back allies, on the other hand, are the true essence of the city. At those forgotten corners, one can rest their body and soul. Back allies in the artist’s paintings are magical and surreal, taking viewers to the back of each unique door, where dreams and desires thrive.
Few new paintings concerning the relationships among space, objects and people will be present in this show, the latest development from a series of abstract paintings the artist did a few years back. Once the manifestation of power defines activities and structures of society, architectural spaces are changing their functionality in the phase of digitisation and globalisation. Dynamic and multiperspective compositions of the artist’s paintings emphasise destabilisation, a metaphoric correspondence to the collective expedition, glob and virtual reality, and their struggle to adapt to mobility and dynamism of places, ideas, values, and lifestyles.
新加坡艺术家于丹亚 (Danya Yu) 的首次个展：
迷彩都市
–“第三种文化之子”的颜色
展出作品概述：
这次个展中，年轻当代艺术家于丹亚 (Danya Yu) 以自2014年以来创作的“光与影的街道”系列为主题，展示这4年来的创作历程，风格转变，以及对新一系列的展望
“光与影的街道”系列囊括了四个分系列:“城市的分水岭”，“生活的深径”，“最后的追逐”，和“最初的追逐”。
“生活的深径”的灵感主要来自本地的后巷。后巷在引申义中暗示危险和藏匿。但新加坡的后巷却迥然不同。在静谧的后街中，昏黄的路灯下，主妇们闲话家常，饭店和公司的职员们忙里偷闲的吸着烟，老人们聚在一起下棋，猫儿们互相追逐嬉戏。。。在这精英云集的大都市中，灯红酒绿的前街像一场永无休止的假面舞会，以人为塑造的华丽，速度和繁复吸引着世界的眼球。相形之下，后街以她默默无闻的方式展示着城市中真正的精华：在某个角落里，茫然的灵魂和身体正在恬息，在暗影中，梦想伴着欲望悄然延伸。在这个分系列里，我同时以观察者和参与者的视角安静的窥视和叙述在城市规划中传统与发展的暗涌。废弃的雨棚，人力车，暗夜中穿梭于酒吧的女郎那红色的裙摆。。。巷中的一隅无不冲击着我们日新月异的城市环境。
“城市的分水岭”，“最后的追逐”和 “最初的追逐”系列多半以雨夜为主题。雨中灯光的扑簌迷离衬托着线条呆板的城市建筑，亦真亦幻。局促的楼宇空间，复杂的社会框架淹没在这雨中的虚幻之境。这抑或是我对物欲追求和及时行乐的城市面貌的质疑。
创作视角：
在全球化的时代里，有一群自幼在国界与国界之旅中成长起来的人，被称作“第三种文化之子”(third culture kids)。由于生活的流动性，他们被本族的文化边缘化，同时有无法完全被所在地的人文所接受。基于成长经验，他们形成了一套流动的价值观，即是对观点，立场想法淡薄：轻易吸收新理念，但又无法深入认同。他们自我存在意识薄弱，内心的不安如影随行。我也是这群体中的一员。我出生于中国东北的哈尔滨，遥远寒冷的雪国。少年时代在新加坡度过的我，为了大学文凭，又在地近南极的南澳挥洒了近五年的时光。20岁初，因为工作原因，我又再度回到新加坡。从幼年至青年时代的辗转让我对世界的认知里参杂了继续游离，惶惑的伤感。“漂泊”，在特定的境遇里是种戒不掉的毒。不知曾几何时，我恋上了夜行的感觉。我时常一个人在暮色中游荡。特别是在雨中，无论是喧嚣的都宇或静谧的城郊，脚步与思绪总是随着夜的朦胧延伸向光与影的彼方。身边行色匆匆的路人，飞驰而过的车辆都无声的诉说着来自世界不同角落的故事。在这些故事中，有喜悦，兴奋，悲伤，迷惘，抗争，一切的一起，非语言所能表达的众生相。我窃许在画布中，笔触里，呈现这些经意或无意的邂逅。啊，如果你在暗夜独行，即使是大雨滂沱，你也不必不安。在这流离与流连之际，如果你坦诚的直视内心，或许透过光与影的幻想，看到奇迹，惊喜。
Exhibition details/展览信息
Opening reception: 26th October 2017, 7 pm
Date: 26th – 30th October 2017
Address: Visual Arts Centre
10 Penang Road, #01-02 Dhoby Ghaut Green, Singapore 238469
Monday to Sunday: 11 am – 8 pm
Artist’s Website/艺术家网站 https://www.danyayu.com/
