starvingartist

Thanks so much Alice!

Sheridan Convocation, June 8th, 2004.
Living Arts Centre, Mississauga.

Yay!

As part of my 2004 graduation from the joint Art & Art History program at the University of Toronto at Mississauga and Sheridan College, one of my works is currently on display at the Blackwood Gallery in Mississauga, Ontario.

Where We Are Instead

by Stanley Sy. Mixed media, 2001-2004.

Artist’s Statement
Even with the best laid plans, life often takes us to a different destination.

The installation consists primarily of two layers. The top-most layer is an archive of approximately three years worth of my own bus transfer tickets from Mississauga Transit. It consists of my daily grind of my travels during my studies. Each transfer is a statistical archive of my own movements across the city, down to the exact day and time. They are chronologically ordered and methodically arranged. But they are silent. It is under these records that show the randomness of life itself. These sub-layers consist of charcoal sketches, which were later photocopied and made translucent. They are personal and private observations; memories evoking the life and personal travel unseen in the schedule. The long waits, the cold winter air, the company of other passengers – all these are part of the journey. The orange lines, reminiscent of the distinctively coloured graphic signatures outlining the Mississauga Transit bus, adds to the movement.

The bus transfers, as a means of record, may show our physical journey, but it is our personal fragments of memory that brings us to where we are instead.

While the exhibition was to end on May 2, it has been extended till June 6th. So if you’re curious, take a look. Gallery hours and directions are available at the Blackwood Gallery website.

Merry Christmas to everyone! I’m in the process of revamping this website and maybe actually add some contents soon

This is for the select few who are part of our Christmas Play…

…The sun doesn’t always shine. It’s alright to fall apart sometimes.

It was weird today. It was dark and cloudy in some parts of the sky with a strong wind. But in other parts, it was very bright, sunny and warm. Weird. Kinda like today.

Looks like we made it
Look how far we’ve come, my baby
We might have took the long way
We knew we’d get there someday

They said, “I bet they’ll never make it”
But just look at us holding on
We’re still together
Still going strong

Okay, so the power goes off around 4:15 PM. I though it’d be back in a few minutes. Nothing happens. It’s way too long, so I figured it might have been a busted fuse. So I go downstairs, and reset the fusebox. Nothing.

Brian, calls me all the way from Brampton (roughly 9 miles northwest from Mississauga) saying the power’s gone. Strange.

And the rest you probably saw on TV (or heard on the radio like the rest of us).

• It’s weird seeing everyone outside walking and talking to each other. People playing ball, gathering at a local stripmall’s storefront, and unsual amount walking on the sidewalks.
• Most cellphones didn’t work. PBXs and anything with an extension or voicemail was unusable.
• My neighbours invited me over for dinner. They had a natural gas stove, so they managed to cook up a warm meal. That was great.
• CBC Radio One and 680 News came in handy on my walkman (if only to provide some white noise to the eerie silence.)
• I got a bunch of calls. Thanks to everyone who checked if I was alright. I got 3 calls from the Philippines too at around 7:00 PM (which is about 7:00 in the morning over there). I guess they heard the news over CNN
• I read a bunch of mags and newspapers until sunset. After that, it was too dark to do anything and every game I have is on a computer. *sigh*
• Not sure how well the food in my fridge held up to 14 hours of continuous black out.
• It was pitch-black in my room. But the stars in the sky were great