While we are well able to “look”, as a means to direct our eyes in a particular direction, to "see" requires our vision to work with our imagination to develop an awareness for the thing we are looking at that. A perceptive sense of observation as such is indispensable when we search for purposeful and imaginative insights to inspire, particularly in design research.
National Vending Gallery presents topic No. 3 Peripheral Vision, a collection of "seeing" documented in the print format. These books demonstrate good peripheral vision, where a single subject is seen through multiple divergent lenses – shifting attention to vision that occurs outside typical points of fixation. By enriching observation with imagination, these thoughtful publications inspire readers to unravel common, yet unapparent attributes of everyday life – from socks, prison food, vegetation, the haze, and even stray cats.
Aira Lim
Alvin Ho
Ang Song Nian
Claire Lim
Clara Koh
Gideon Kong
Hans Tan
Jamie Yeo
Loh Xiang Yun
Justin Zhuang
Nadia Wagner
Ng Zi Ning
Pann Lim
Renn Lim
Sheere Ng
Yao Yu
This topic is a collection of 16 works.
Contains: #1 APPLE #2 CUP #3 CLOCK #4 WINDOW #5 DOOR #6 PIPE #7 EGG #8 SOCKS #9 PLATE #10 TOILET PAPER + An appendix of sorts poster + Slipcase
Throughout 2016, Ang recorded the Pollutant Standard Index at noon in Singapore, to observe recurring haze caused by forest fires and peatland burning in Indonesia. Translating these daily records into corresponding gradated prints using light-sensitive photographic paper – Ang seeks to mimic a sense of unease and reduced visibility brought by the haze, at the same time reflecting on mankind’s manipulation of the environment for their short-sighted agendas.
With its near-phallic shape stirring in most fully-grown adults sexual imageries condemned by many religious and proper people, the banana remains a highly popular fruit enjoyed by millions around the world. Large scale farming has made the tropical fruit accessible almost all year round and in most countries, so much so that it is rare to come across anyone who is completely unaware of this iconic fruit. Popularity aside, it is perhaps important to note that one of the most significant aspects of this yellow fruit is its role in the beginning and end of most human life; its soft, easily mashable texture makes eating easy for both teething babies and the toothless elderly…
This project reimagines repair as an inspiring activity that produces aspiring outcomes. Ten designers in Singapore were invited to exercise their creativity and restore broken, faulty, worn-out objects that were volunteered by the public through an open call. Their unique and fascinating approaches resulted in outcomes that challenge our preconceptions of repair. There are also nine repair kits produced by design students. Each delivers a novel repair technique where the restored products are “better off” than the original.
Rubbish Famzine is created by 4 member family art collective Holycrap! which documents family memories and topics they love. For issue no.10 their plan was to revisit Japan to collect more content and Materials as a tribute to their very first issue which was based on their first family holy in Tokyo and Kyoto. Sadly COVID struck and borders closed worldwide. So their plan ‘B’ was to ‘bring Japan to us’ since they couldn’t travel. By replicating the entire issue 1 and redesigning it with new contents that are all related to japan with past experiences along with new ones formed right here in their own home.
The book contains object inventories (thumbnails) of house interiors in Singapore photographed and studied by interior design students. They are sorted into loose categories that could be rearranged and further interpreted through active participation of the reader. Pages are pad bound/tearable and hole-punched for this purpose. The front and back cover contain 2 student-contributed indexes for more complex layers of information beyond the broad categories that structure the publication.
Shine is an interactive storybook where the story unfolds only in the dark with just a torchlight, as the shadows cast on each page will reveal a part of the story. Parents can accompany their children to cast shadows and read the heartwarming story together. (torchlight not provided)
As part of Atelier HOKO’s ongoing research and explorations, they initiated a performative/instructional postcard activity ‘another mad afternoon at home’ for three volumes of their ongoing Science of the Secondary series. A large selection of the postcard responses they received by mail were put together in this book as a collection of participatory notes and drawings on unexplored experiences with the common door, window, and pipe.
Chamber pots as cooking pots, blankets as fuel. Cooking in prisons cells is illegal in Singapore, but that did not stop inmates from inventing ways to “masak” during the 1970s and 1980s. When Cooking Was A Crime offers a glimpse into the flavours of prison life based on the memories of eight former inmates. It explores how food and cooking took on new meanings and tastes for those living behind bars.
HABIT©️AT is an inquiry into how street cats in Singapore inhabit the man-made spaces of the suburban landscapes. This publication encourages the viewing of our urban landscape not simply as public space but one charged with possibilities through the cats’ adaptive appropriation. Their ability to discern subtle qualities and identify ‘gifts’ from the surrounding is a wisdom that human beings can humbly learn from and apply to our own approach towards dwelling.
Inspired by apocalyptic scenarios (in films) where survivors imaginatively put together essential products by foraging for things around them from ground zero, Forager Things presents two collections of objects that encourages us to recondition our perspectives towards mass produced items. With the instructions provided in this book, anyone with reasonable access to home-found and store-bought materials can participate in putting together a product or personalised mail.
Contains 400 overprinted specimen woodcut of Yu Yi Rubber Stamp Maker during their operation (1980s-1990s) with the traditional stamp-making method. The woodcuts were donated by Mr Huang Jia Xiong who began as a typesetter in Sin Chew Daily in the 1950s and operated Yu Yi Stamp Maker. Woodcuts are all originally manually craved. Printed with 7 x 11 Showcard proofing press.
Like the way we interact with fallen leaves and plants on the streets, these plants are reproduced not-to-scale and are not bound in any specific order. Images scanned using an HP OfficeJet Pro 7740 and printed on Cyclus Offset & K-colour fresh green using the Risograph. Comes with a handy magnifying sheet.
In response to the theme “Discipline the City” organised by The Substation (SG), Atelier HOKO’s research positions the tropical weather of Singapore as an omnipresent disciplinarian, regulating pedestrians’ behaviour and body language as they move about outdoor street spaces. The book explores the mundane, almost unthinking, actions which suggest an array of complex yet subtle intentions to regulate one’s temperature while maintaining public decorum.
Among the many clothing types in our wardrobe, none leads a more unappreciated existence than the sock. Wavering between undergarment and outerwear, the staggering amount of pressure and force applied to the sock each time we take a step forward attests to its silent resilience. It is not without irony that the definition of quality socks lies precisely in how little we take notice of its presence; a good pair of socks is absent when worn on the feet…
Intrigued by human perception of nature, SALAD presents a collection of 200 photographs that bring the various textures of a park to the fore. Loh brings her passion as a scientific botanical illustrator into the tableaus she depicts, presenting a capsule of images guided by precision and an eye for detail. The book recalls a sample swatch in its presentation – a comprehensive catalogue of options, a buffet-style of offerings similar to that provided in the assembly of a salad.