2015: Presence and Distances

Presence and Distances

flaneur gallery, July 9 - July 26 2015

"Fuming, whose works used to portray isolated figures, is revealing an increasing awareness of his characters’ context and their tasks at hand (Hawker Centre and Bread), with Untitled (Bowls) and Untitled (Empty Table) focusing almost entirely on objects. As suggested by their titles, the works that Fuming are presently showing are all related to the theme of food, a recurrent topic of his. He accounts for the reference neatly, relating “putting bread on the table” and “rice bowls” (a Chinese phrase meaning “livelihood”) to his primary interests: what individuals’ do for a living and how that impacts their identity and relationships....

Fuming’s directness is befitting of his preoccupations, which are, frankly, with practical people going about their practical businesses. Its aptness is like that of his choice medium, for both charcoal and woodcuts allow him to “mould” the images by hand, mimicking the very actions he depicts. Woodcut, especially, is a very manual technique of creating prints as compared to other methods, more so as Fuming creates them by rubbing. These methods are telling of his preference for efficient means, for like his subjects, Fuming is focus on his purpose, that is, to convey his ideas to his audience, whom he acknowledges as partners in this creative exchange, in a way that is as clear as possible. Thus, the point of view he presents tends to be rather objective. "

- Lee Ju-Lyn, Author/Artist