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Injured hands do not dampen Guyrence’s spirit

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19 January 2018

In the wee hours of the morning on 8 November, cries for help roused Guyrence Tan from his deep slumber after spending hours prior preparing for his semester assessment at LASALLE College of the Arts. Upon investigation, he found thick black smoke billowing steadily from his neighbour’s housing unit, and was told that someone was still trapped within.

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Without a moment’s hesitation, he wrapped his shirt around his face and dashed into the burning flat. He found his neighbour of 10 years, Ridwan Ithnin, gripping onto the window ledge of his bedroom for dear life with just four fingers.

Apparently, Ridwan’s e-scooter abruptly exploded while it was charging in the room and with flames blocking his path to the door, he climbed out of his window in a panic. “I was aware of the emergency at hand and did not think too much,” Guyrence recounted. Acting quickly, he dashed through the flames and pulled Ridwan from the window, before leading the injured man out to safety.

 

Ridwan was admitted for second-degree burns to forty-five per cent of his body, and had to undergo an immediate skin graft. Guyrence similarly required medical attention for his hands that sustained burns during the rescue, as seen above. When queried if he was every concerned about his own safety during the incident, Guyrence reflected, “I think the adrenaline of the situation made me simply focus on getting Ridwan out of the danger. Thinking back, it was probably a good thing that I wasn’t worried about myself because my reaction time would have been slower then. I don’t think I can recreate that act again without the adrenaline of the moment.”

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For his brave and selfless actions, Guyrence received the Community Life Saver Award from the Third Commander of the Singapore Civil Defence Force, LTC Eric Chua, on 9 December in an official ceremony. While grateful for the recognition, Guyrence is humbled by the entire experience. In his eyes, he was merely performing a deed anyone else would similarly do because “it is only right.”

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This piece of work is an attempt at mapping chaos, or rather, a documentation of an unsettled and organic mental space made up of pathways and meanders to nowhere. It was done by Guyrence for the ‘Drawing’ component within his Studio Practice module in BA(Hons) Fine Arts.
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Better to Believe was Guyrence’s final year project for his Diploma, and it seeks to educate the young on the finer nuances surrounding the Hungry Ghost Festival. Guyrence employed screen-printing and collage for this poster.

Fast friends with Ridwan even before this episode, Guyrence updated that both of them are recovering well. Guyrence’s assessment for his first semester in our BA(Hons) Fine Arts programme, as pictured above, even went smoothly despite his hands being out of commission. He jested lightly, “Thankfully, I had completed my set-up early and had not left it to the last minute. What remained was the labelling of my works, and my girlfriend kindly aided me with this.”

Such foresight comes with experience, and his time as a Diploma student in our Design Communication programme must have taught him such. Guyrence shared that he made the switch in disciplines because he wanted to delve into the print medium more. He hopes to use his time at LASALLE to research a way to further unify art and design. “Just take the Bauhaus school of thought, for instance. When you look at their works, you can often sense that design is an integral part of art, and vice versa.”

Guyrence has, however, been cautioned to “take it easy” by the doctors. The skin on his hands may have healed, but strength and dexterity may take a while to return. While that may be the case, Guyrence is not one to be deterred. He lets on sheepishly that he was already busy making art during his December holiday break as he will be participating in the 35mm Art Market by The Local People this January.

To his valiant heart, unwavering optimism, and strength in character, LASALLE is proud to have Guyrence amongst us for he inspires the best in all of us.