contextual statement
Muhammad Aliff Taufiq
FA3A3
F11FA1240
Or Else, The Lightning God
I believe art serves a purpose and its delivery is through the medium, therefore, materials have not been a limitation in my practice. My current execution involves re-creating the Chinese guardian lions out of casting plaster. And then the lions are individually submerged in a salt crystal mixture of alum salt (aluminum sulfate, Al2(SO4)3 ) and distilled water, where salt crystals will form on the surfaces of the lions over a period of time, depending on the level of saturation.
The Chinese guardian lions are symbolic decorative that traditionally stood in front of palaces, imperial tombs, government tombs, temples and the houses of the wealthy during pre-modern China. The lions are created and placed in pairs, believed to manifest yin and yang, and carry protective benefits against mythic dark forces. With immigration that allows cultures to be transported across continents, the Chinese guardian lions have become a familiar icon affiliated to Chinese culture.
The visual result of a cultural icon in a transpicuous veil of crystals (suggesting the lions’ inability to preserve its folkways, giving way to “white powers1”) should provoke the audience into reflecting the current social obsession with wealth and excess with cultural and moral values at stake.
The concept of decadence involves a descent to a lower condition in moral or art. Pointedly, the condition of moral decline in society is self-evident. In order for degeneration to be effectively judged, standards must exist as points of reference. These judgments are based on from either religious sources or secular ideologies. In the realm of religion, moral codes are passed on via sacred scriptures and traditions. However, cultural adaptations may be made as needed.
Singapore’s deputy prime minister, the Ong Teng Cheong has pointed out the influx of ‘Western decadence’ and ‘warned his nation’s parliament that
FA3A3
F11FA1240
Or Else, The Lightning God
I believe art serves a purpose and its delivery is through the medium, therefore, materials have not been a limitation in my practice. My current execution involves re-creating the Chinese guardian lions out of casting plaster. And then the lions are individually submerged in a salt crystal mixture of alum salt (aluminum sulfate, Al2(SO4)3 ) and distilled water, where salt crystals will form on the surfaces of the lions over a period of time, depending on the level of saturation.
The Chinese guardian lions are symbolic decorative that traditionally stood in front of palaces, imperial tombs, government tombs, temples and the houses of the wealthy during pre-modern China. The lions are created and placed in pairs, believed to manifest yin and yang, and carry protective benefits against mythic dark forces. With immigration that allows cultures to be transported across continents, the Chinese guardian lions have become a familiar icon affiliated to Chinese culture.
The visual result of a cultural icon in a transpicuous veil of crystals (suggesting the lions’ inability to preserve its folkways, giving way to “white powers1”) should provoke the audience into reflecting the current social obsession with wealth and excess with cultural and moral values at stake.
The concept of decadence involves a descent to a lower condition in moral or art. Pointedly, the condition of moral decline in society is self-evident. In order for degeneration to be effectively judged, standards must exist as points of reference. These judgments are based on from either religious sources or secular ideologies. In the realm of religion, moral codes are passed on via sacred scriptures and traditions. However, cultural adaptations may be made as needed.
Singapore’s deputy prime minister, the Ong Teng Cheong has pointed out the influx of ‘Western decadence’ and ‘warned his nation’s parliament that