The Noise Blog

Read the latest happenings on our official blog.

• 9 Apr 2009

  Keris Phua

  
  
  Twenty-one-year-old Keris Phua says that she is "till searching" for her "goals in life". If she keeps up with what she is doing, I think she will turn out just fine.
  
  Under the guidance of former photojournalist Lim Seng Tiong, the second-year Visual Communication student, who used to have a bleak outlook on life, is now pursuing passionately a documentary photography project about Toa Payoh.
  
  Where do you get your inspiration from?
  
  Inspiration for photography, well... Due to my pessimistic view of life, I used to hate photography in the past until one module (photojournalism) in school forced me to walk out and choose a topic to work on. And ever since the very first photo-shoot of the backstage scenes at a Teochew Chinese Opera, I have fallen in love with photography.
  
  Why? What did you see there?
  
  Two words: Cultural Extinction!
  
  I felt disturbed.
  
  I was earnest in wanting to express admiration and respect for the crew/opera singer.
  
  Renowned French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson is regarded by many people as the father of modern photojournalism. He spoke extensively of “the decisive moment” in photography.
  

  "the decisive moment, it is the
  simultaneous recognition, in a fraction
  of a second, of the significance of an
  event as well as the precise organization
  of forms which gives that event
  its proper expression."

  
  What do you consider as your decisive moment?
  
  It depends on my state of mind or feeling as I am an intuitive person.
  
  My decisive moment could be triggered visually, something that makes me want to capture it without self-consciousness.
  
  You said Seng Tiong taught you "lots" about life and photography. What do you consider the most illuminating tip that he's given? Can you talk more about it?
  
  Life: Error in life. He was still a student at a time where pictures were still processed in a darkroom using chemicals. It was really dark inside and he was not yet familiar with the chemicals. And he accidentally mixed up the chemicals, causing the picture to turn out strange. The unexpected error was a complete surprise for him because he would never have mixed it up deliberately. The picture was entered into a competition; if I am not wrong, it won the first prize. (Try to be a little "wilder", you never know!)
  
  Photography: Life applied to how a person sees things differently.
  
  What were you doing right before answering your emails?
  
  In the midst of "Branding and Developments" lesson.
  
  If you were to give out awards to your favourite photographers, who would they be?
  
  Every photographer. All images can be good or bad; a good picture might not appeal to you but it might to another.
  
  Where do you see yourself after this apprenticeship programme?
  
  Discovering what I can do other than what I have done so far. As I'm new in photography, I am trying to discover what, in a person's mind, can freeze time.
  
  

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• 2 Apr 2009

  Valerie

  I wonder what the psychologist R.D. Laing would have made of Valerie who is all at once:
  
  • Chia Su Yi;
  • kit-su-ne;
  • Valkyrie; and
  • A Environmental Management and Water Technology student at Singapore Polytechnic.
  
  Now, she is working with Rul on a comic story by their mentor Kelvin Chan. Assigned to do pencil illustrations and colouring, Valerie (Val? Su Yi? Valkyrie??) is learning how to use Photoshop for her new task.
  
  You call yourself ‘kit-su-ne’ and ‘Valkyrie’. What do they mean?
  
  ‘Kit-su-ne’ is a variation on the word kitsune, which is Japanese for fox. I like foxes, especially mythical ones like the nine-tailed fox jiuweihu* (九尾狐) and fox fairies huxian*(狐 仙). Since my Chinese name is Su Yi, I spilt up the word to show my 'Su' in kit-su-ne.
  
  Well, about Valkyrie — since people always call me Val and I really like the idea of valkyries picking up brave fallen warriors to prepare for Judgement Day in Norse myths, I called myself Valkyrie.
  
  * Mythical creatures with origins in Chinese folk tales
  
  I like October Rain.
  
  
  I am glad you like October Rain. I did it because I was bored of drawing people over and over again, and I love surreal, abstract art. So I drew, and the effect was quite unexpected.
  
  My favourite artworks would be:
  
  
  
  I love the concept of time, and how things won't last. So I drew the elf against a backdrop of clocks. It wasn't quite nice, but I was proud of it because I attempted a new colouring method: using texture printing.
  
  
  I like this one because it is neither 'here' nor 'there'. I re-created the lighting I saw in a fashion magazine and added in the horse because I like horses.
  
  You said you draw inspiration from photos, artworks, as well as poems that are moving. Can you name some of your favourite photographers and artists?
  
  Photographers are more difficult to name because I usually get inspiration from photos in the news, especially in the Life section (of The Straits Times) where they review dances and artists. Sometimes there are pictures of dances which are very much like poetry in motion. Sometimes they take pictures of people who somehow move me because of, I don't know, the way the light and shadows fall on the subject. But, well, these are some of my favourite photographers on DeviantArt:
  • Robert Mekis
  • Closer to Heave
  
  For artists, I would say Dali (I prefer his sculptures like the melting time piece), Michelangelo (David!), and some other nameless calligraphy and Chinese painting artists I see in the newspaper. For modern ones, it would be Yoshitoshi Abe, Shigeki Maeshima, and:
  • Noah
  • Jae Liu
  • Jason Chan
  
  
  If you can be a manga/ anime/ graphic novel character, who would you be? Can you describe this person?
  
  If I can be anyone from manga, it would be... actually, I have never thought of this. In general, I am attracted to strong characters, such as Tao Ren from Shaman King and the Claymores, but I would prefer to be a happy and carefree character like Setsuna from Angel Sanctuary.
  
  What are your personal goals?
  
  My goal is to... hmm... I have never really thought much of my future except that I know I want to work somewhere that can benefit both the environment and people. I just want to live everyday to the fullest with the people I love: my family, my friends. It sounds clichéd, I know :P
  
  Oh, yes, one of my goal is to draw a picture that I would really be proud of, because I am not very satisfied with most of my art...
  
  

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