by Chok Si Xuan, BA(Hons) Fine Arts Level 2 (2019)
Last year, I had the opportunity to be part of the second edition of Meshminds x LASALLE collaboration. Other participants included my peers from Fine Arts, Odelia Yen, Guyrence Tan, R. Yashini, Denise Yap and Desiree Tham, and many other students from Broadcast Media and Music.
Meshminds is a creative technology studio, and its non-profit arm Meshmind Foundation worked with LASALLE students to create through technology, an awareness of sustainable development.
Over the course of three months, we attended workshops held by Meshminds’ partners, various lecturers and tech partners such as Apple, Autodesk, HTC and Google. For our faculty, we got the chance to learn Autodesk Fusion360, Recap, Google Blocks and Tilt Brush. The instructors were extremely helpful and were able to advise us on how to approach making our works as well as potential technical difficulties.
In these workshops, we were taught how to use the respective software as well as rethink the manner in which these applications have been used and how we can adopt them in our work. Additionally, most of us had little to no experience in the various areas, hence this was a great opportunity to explore potential new mediums that we could eventually apply in our own practices. The addition of technology in art presents new ways of conveying messages, whether it is through added interactivity or reintroducing familiar tech that we see (QR codes, Snapchat filters), or even the ability for complete immersion in Virtual Reality (VR).
However, in approaching any new medium, there are bound to be some technical difficulties. For example, while 3D printing, we faced unforeseen issues with working with the new media such as structural problems with 3D designing, or glitches. Though figuring out the issues were tricky, it was a great learning experience nonetheless.
In the spirit of Art and Tech for Good, as well as with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in mind, we conceptualised our works to align with one of the 17 causes we wanted to explore, such as Reduced Inequality, Responsible Consumption and Production, and Good Health and Well-being.
Odelia used VR to create awareness for schizophrenia, while Guyrence and Denise talked about wage inequality and healthy work-life balance through actions respectively through AR (augmented reality) and 3D printed objects. Yashini used black light and glow in the dark filament as a conversation starter about light pollution in Singapore, and Desiree used AR and 3D printed objects as a humorous way to explore chiromancy and its system of inequalities. I made a 3D printout of an articulating rib which was suspended by motors that would move when it sensed an audience.
During Singapore Art Week 2019, our exhibition opened at Roger&Sons, an ethical woodworking bespoke company. The turnout on opening night was overwhelming, with a throng of people turning up to view our works exhibited alongside the IOT-based works by the Music students, and the VR dystopian Singapore landscape by the Broadcast Media students.
Throughout the week, Meshminds also invited speakers to share their approaches on using technology and conduct programmes such as networking nights and workshops. We also had the opportunity to give tours to the media and the public, introducing our work and its contexts, and initiate conversations about the supportive technology, as well as sustainable development.
All in, it was an eye-opening experience to see people coming together for a good cause, and discussing how technology can enable engagement and accessibility among communities. It was inspiring to see how people are excited about merging art and technology and I was really glad to be a part of it. I can't wait to see how the next edition will turn out.
