Jonathan Ng art

Sweets for the taking. How many is enough ?

Acrylic on Pine Table, Big Fake Lollipop and Sweets (Installation), 120 X 75 cm

“The deconstructionist notion that 'anything goes' in art means also that 'nothing goes.' Thus, the argument seen from that perspective is pointless and goes nowhere.” - Lisa Chakrabarti

I am inspired by the artworks of Kishio Suga. I have hand crafted 9 pieces of concrete in blocks of 50cm x 50cm. Each block however varies in weight and depth, each unique, and connected together with cable ties through holes formed within the concrete blocks.

We often associate cement with what we see at constructions side as it is one of the most common material use for buildings today. It has surpassed the use of wood and other nature materials in modern architecture. I want to start a dialogue on how we must co-exsist and work 'hand in hand' with mother nature. While we need to embrace new technologies and engineering advances to better our lives for us and generations to come we cannot forget and forsake what nature has provided us and respect what she has given us.

Materials: Cement, Sand and Cable Ties
3 Triangles: Creation, Preservation and Destruction
(2017)

Safety Series 1
(Suitcase, Fire Extinguisher, Waterproof Bag, Stretch Belt Barriers and Departure Slips)

As one of the world’s busiest airports, Changi Airport sees more than 6,900 flights land and depart in a week. Therefore, security threats are taken very seriously. Identity and document checks by officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) are conducted thoroughly to ensure no undesirable people and goods slip through.

All baggage, including hand-held baggage arriving in Singapore and transferring to another aircraft will undergo a 100 per cent Hold Baggage Screening System where a computer automatically detects explosive materials and operators review threat images to determine if a baggage should undergo more checks (up to five levels of checks).

K-9 dogs trained in explosives and drugs detection would also constantly make their rounds, sniffing for suspicious contents.

The Airport Operations Centre is the nerve centre of Changi Airport where key entities involved in aircraft movement, passengers and baggage movement, security, law and order policing amalgamate.

This central operations centre allows inter-agency cooperation for optimal aviation security. Security personnel are not the only ones involved in the airport’s security. The airport community – cleaners, cashiers, retail staff and counter staff are a part of the Police’s Threat-Oriented Passenger Screening Integrated System (TOPSIS).

They are trained to be the Police’s eyes and ears on the ground and will keep a lookout for suspicious passengers loitering around the airport’s premises. 

Safety Series 2
(Barrier, Traffic Cone, Safety Helmet, Safety Fencing and Construction Yellow Rain Jacket)

I wanted to depict the plight of foreign labourers in Singapore. They come to Singapore to work, in order to support their families back home. When they get injured, they have difficulties getting support from their employees and in claiming for financial compensation. 

Unable to work and with no income, it is no wonder that many of these labourers find ways to work illegally. This has become a pressing issue, given the huge number of foreign workers in Singapore and the lack of protection from local labour laws. 

“Workers who are being mistreated by their employer are in effect being enslaved by such a system, as the fear of losing their jobs are likely to force them to endure exploitation, and working and living under duress.” 

Safety Series 3
(Teenage bicycles, Toddler bicycles, Vacuum Hose and Study Lamp)

So caught up in their own world, they seem oblivious to what is around them - stairs, other pedestrians or, worse, oncoming traffic. Motorists are not the only ones who are distracted by their phones. Pedestrians are equally guilty of texting when using the roads and putting their own lives at risk. Distracted pedestrians who pay with their lives in road accidents serves as cautionary tales for all.

Pedestrians are supposed to look left and right before they cross the road. But they don’t do that because they are glued to their phones.