Lot 79: FRANCIS NG (b. Singapore 1975)

Constructing construction #1
signed and dated 'Francis Ng 2005 Edition no. 3 of 5' on the reverse.
c-type print
73 1/5 x 73 1/5 in. (183 x 183 cm.)
Executed in 2001. This work is number 3 from an edition of five.

Constructing construction #1 is a striking encapsulation of the transient present. It is 'man made time in urban spaces'. (Conversation with artist, September 2005) The scene is a familiar one in countries of the region where economies are competing to outdo one another by installing more structures to effect efficiency with their superb infrastructures.

The composition is made up of whizzing traffic the speed of current angled beneath the looming monstrosity of the half completed bridge against a backdrop of an older stretch of road and some buildings. With the old surroundings juxtaposed with the new bridge, the artist captured 'the significance of spaces in transition' (Artist Statement, 2005) It is also a bold and dramatic social comment on the changes in urban society. The electric current created by the ongoing traffic indicates a warning of the explosive speed of changes that are likely to be effected even before one realizes. The absence of people in the scene reinforces the mechanical production of change, resulting in human disengagement as a consequence.

Provocative as the work is, the sense of nostalgia that is present in the work is equally enrapturing.

This photographic print won the Philip Morris Group of Companies ASEAN Art Awards 2002 Grand Prize, noting 2 firsts - the first time 'Photography' was classified as a medium for entry and Ng being the first Singaporean to win the Grand Prize and with this medium.