Lot 20: FRANCIS NG (b. Singapore 1975)

Intimate spaces #1
signed, dated and inscribed 'Francis Ng 2004/Edition No. 3 of 5' (on the reverse)
'c'-type print, colour photograph
48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm.)
Executed in 2004. This work is number three from an edition of five.

As described by the artist, Intimate spaces #1 is made up of a 'strategically composed subject of a face deliberately painted with a geometric representation of a 'square' - mimicking the composition and format of a picture frame.' (Artist's concept brief, 2004). This work combines the artist's interest in the concept of 'space' and the related issue of the 'body'. The white frame forms a focal point alerting the viewer to look at the composition within, which is an attentive view of the subject's mouth, slightly parted, suggestive of a deeper inspection into the space beyond. On a magnified level, this projection of a space within a space can be taken to represent the polar perspectives of micro/internal versus the macro/external issues: that intimate space interacting with and being in relationship with the surrounding space, seen in the mouth in relation to the face and hence the self in relation to the spatial surroundings. This work then is interested in raising the awareness of the significance of 'space' and its larger implications on people.

This photographic work was the category winner, 'Photography' medium, in The 23rd UOB (United Overseas Bank) Painting of the Year Competition 2004, held in Singapore.