Wednesday, October 15, 2008

The sweet taste of art


The sweet taste of art

Here is a temple with a difference: It is made of sugar -all 5.5 tonnes of it.

Created by artists Richard Streitmatter-Tran and Chaw Ei Thein for the Singapore Biennale 2008, it is titled September Sweetness, an ironic tribute to those who lost their lives in the unrest in Myanmar last September.

It is also a reminder of the state of decay that Buddhist temples in Myanmar are currently in.

Inspired by a ruined pagoda in the Bagan region of Myanmar, the artists took two weeks, working 14 hours daily, to cook sugar, pour it into moulds, and piece the finished blocks into a structure measuring 2.6m in height and 2.1 m wide.

September Sweetness and other works from artists participating in the Singapore Biennale will be open to the public from Thursday.

The artists behind the sugar temple, located at the South Beach Development along Beach Road, do not intend to remove or dismantle the installation after the exhibition, saying that the structure will erode over the course of the exhibition, embodying a similar erosion of hope for a better situation in Myanmar.

ST Photo: mugilan rajasegeran
The Straits Times ,Tuesday September 9, 2008 page 1

1 comment:

Mugilan said...

Hi Chaw, was great meeting you and Rich in Singapore. Thks for your understanding and allowing me access to your work.

Best Wishes,

Mugilan