Lot 27: Ostrich

FRANCIS NG (b. Singapore 1975) Ostrich signed 'Francis Ng' (on reverse) c-type print 48 x 48 in. (122 X 122 cm.) This work is number two from an edition of twenty.

Ostrich is from a series titled 'Kill 'em all/Love 'em all', which features eyeglass sporting models shot in the Singapore China Town Heritage Centre. The glasses represent an attempt to clarify people's views and also to filter what they make of the world which they inhabit. The models also have on different posed expressions, exposing the different faces that people wear for different occasions and audiences. This variety of constructed appearances and the different expressions emoted through the face and body language is an attempt to represent the multi-faceted and multi-dimensional face of modern urban living.

The artist chose this specific location to emphasize his desire to position a foreign body in a traditional space. As well, the museum has great significance for Chinese culture and traditions, which Ng thought was fittingly appropriate.

In this particular work, an innocent looking girl sits alone in an aged staircase while gazing purposefully up at the ceiling. The impression of the painting is alluring, as viewers silently wait and watch, knowing that they are trespassing on a private moment of introspection. The girl is clearly out of her usual element with the layered skirt and fish net stockings - which contrasts strikingly against the unfinished walls, the old wooden staircase and the traditional Chinese red ribbon looped around the railing from a bygone era.

This work is essentially an exploration of the ever changing youth culture in Singapore and around the region; an examination of how young people construct their identity in a world that is constantly in a state of fluctuation.