Danny Santos moved to Singapore in 2008 and he has been shooting random strangers (with a camera) in Orchard street ever since. He has been a web & graphic design profession for 10 years. On the weekends, he takes long walks along Orchard street and clicks away at anyone interesting. He’s aiming to ‘create an overall image of the beauty and energy of Orchard Road through the different characters and scenarios found in this busy street’. Street photography such as Danny is does, is challenging. He said: “Nothing cooperates with you.. not the weather, not the subjects, not the situation. You have to make do with what’s available…But on few occasions when all the elements just come together, and you’re at the right place at the right time, the feeling of ‘getting that perfect shot’ just doesn’t compare to anything else.”
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Bonsai is one of the oldest artforms in Japan. Artist Makoto Azuma has taken it a step further by combining the elements of the bonsai with aquascaping. His latest work “Water and Bonsai” is a completely submerged bonsai made of waterlogged branches and creatively attached pieces of java moss. The whole thing is set-up in a tank complete with filter, LED lighting, and C02 diffuser.
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Fabien Merelle graduated from the Beaux-Arts. He is also a former resident of the prestigious Casa Vélasquez in Madrid. ‘Pentateuque’ is part of the 2013 Art Stage Singapore exhibition at the Marina Bay Sands. It’s a lighthearted attempt to translate the maxim ‘to have the weight on one’s shoulders’ into a sculpture. Fabien loves using whimsy, humor, and storytelling to direct the spirit of his pieces. The man in pajamas found in most of Fabien’s work is actually a sort of self-portrait. a man who lives in his dreams out to wear appropriate garb after all.
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Michael Johansson’s art would appeal to those afflicted with OCD. Luggage of the same hue arranged in a perfect cube appeals to a disorganized traveler like me, but it’s not only luggage that falls prey to Michael’s symmetric prowess. He does kitchenware, electrical gadgets, garden tools, and appliances too. Clearly, he spent a lot of time playing Tetris as a boy. Michael lives and works in Sweden.
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Jessica Drenk is a South Carolina-based artist whose unique, nature-inspired sculptures are made from an altogether ubiquitous material. Wooden pencils. She stuck hundreds of pencils together using wood glue and artistically cut and shaped them to vaguely resemble driftwood, stalactites, stalagmites, and shells. She said: “By transforming familiar objects into nature-inspired forms and patterns, I examine how we classify the world around us. Manufactured goods appear as natural objects, something functional becomes something decorative, a simple material is complex, and the commonplace becomes unique.”
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Olga Melamory Larionova, a.k.a. FairyARTos, is a Russian artist whose realistic drawings put photographs to shame. She does most of her work with pens but her pencils are just as impressive, if not more so. Her drawings create a certain emotional pull within the viewers, urging them to look at her work a little longer. Such expressiveness from a a drawing is rare, and yet Olga consistently manages to re-create it in every one of her pieces.
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Xu Jing’s is a Chinese photographer who takes such great pictures of snow-laden trees, they almost look fake. Rest assured that the trees are real and in no way digitally altered to look like they have icicles for leaves. Jing chooses his shots well and has captured quite a few breath-taking winter landscapes. Anuo is his nom de guerre in the art world.
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Darren Tan is the real person behind the tongue-tangling handle Wraithdt. He is one of the artists at Imaginary Friends Studios who did the visually stunning illustrations for the new Star Wars Essential Reader’s Companion. It’s not that hard to guess that Wraithdt is a Star Wars fan himself. You’d have to be to pay attention to all the little details in the uniforms, the fight scenes, and the characters themselves. Darren lives and makes his art in Singapore.
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Scratchboard illustrations are created by etching a design on thin China clay covered with black India ink using a sharp knife. Multiple layers of colored clay may be used along with aluminum foil. The result is highly detailed, precise and even textured artwork. Michael Halbert’s work is an expert in this field and has created more than 500 scratchboard illustrations. He has had extensive experience as a lay-out artist for Geisz Advertising as well as an artist and illustrator for Hanley Partnership and The Sporting News. He is now a freelance illustrator who gives his own tutorials.
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Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann is the wacky pair behind the art studio Zim&Zou. For their series “The Eternal Jungle”, they’ve created a jungle’s worth of extremely colorful animals out of leftover bits and pieces of leather. And not just any leather, Hermès leather.There’s a parrot, a toucan, a chameleon, and; ironically enough, a monkey which looks suspiciously like the emblem of another famous handbag. They’ve also made detailed food, camera, and train sculptures out of paper.
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