The inspiration for the artwork is psychedelic art*. In Singapore, we are a fast paced society and that can lead to a lot of unhappiness. I present this gif to anyone who have fallen into repression, depression, who are burnt out or are having a hard time in life. I would like them to experience it as if they are in a crazy, happy, out of the world psychedelic trip (just without drugs) and remind them that although life can be brutal, it also brings surprising and unexpected happiness too.
*Psychedelic art
wiki: Psychedelic art is any art or visual displays inspired by psychedelic experiences and hallucinations known to follow the ingestion of psychoactive drugs such as LSD and psilocybin.
Steve Lawler from Kult contacted me about the the open call for Noise X Gif Festival, and the theme is "Spellbound". Thrilled, I immediately told him I would submit a gif. I had previously done a personal gif project known as "In Ella's Room" and learnt many lessons from that project and enjoyed the tedious process of making gifs.
Good vibes surged through me. Now, what do I want to create? I exchanged ideas with my partner, come up with potential directions and continued brainstorming. Nothing seemed to pop up. 2 weeks later, I was sitting in the study, revisitng my thoughts when my fiancé, Ryan came in and said "How about psychedelic art inspired?" Something clicked!
Thank you love ♥, you are the best!
Psychedelic Art was part of my favourite era, the sixties.
In Fashion School, we had fashion history class which covered different eras and I found the sixties amazing. I loved the fashion, product design, art, music, space travel and mindset of the era of change, creativity and freedom. I felt I was ready to tackle psychedelic art now with my latest illustration style and dived in.
Image source: NASA on The Commons
"Gemini X astronauts John Young (leading), Command Pilot, and Michael Collins, Pilot, walk up the ramp at Pad 19 after arriving from the Launch Complex 16 suiting trailer during the pre-launch countdown. Moments later they entered the elevator which took them to the white room and the waiting Gemini X spacecraft. Liftoff was at 5:20 p.m. (EST), July 18, 1966."
While working on this project, I was still in the midst of recovery from repression*. It has been a painful journey. My fiancé have been super supportive throughout, it must have been really hard as I'm sure he did not know exactly what I was going through and how to help me. Nonetheless, he was there for me.
I remembered while I was going through repression, some of my friends had fallen into depression, some were going through the same condition as myself and some were just burnt out. Hence, I decided I was going to dedicate this piece to anyone having a hard time in their busy lives.
*What is repression like (from my experience): You often think of yourself standing on the roof, you fall without the feelings of fear, just the wish that this will all end. You feel no sense of excitement doing anything or going anywhere, life seems meaningless and there is nothing to look forward to. You are unable to control your emotions and almost want to lash out at everything. Mental breakdowns come with the package. You don't understand and can't comprehend what pushed your discipline away to make you do all these incomprehensible actions.
← My many variations
Happiness and Excitement had now visited once more and I felt extremely driven to deliver this project. I took one whole day to perfect it. Maybe 3 hours on the illustration and 10 or so hours doing trial and error between Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
You must think, it's a gif, how hard can it be? It needs 4 frames and that's it. If you want it to look natural or smooth, that won't happen in your first attempt. Every little stroke you adjust makes or breaks the gif, hence I needed to try out all the different effects I imagined (which means many variations) before I can decide which ones are the best to use. It's tedious but fun.
Elements
If you notice, there are mouths with eyeballs in them, smiley face, closing and opening eyeballs, the pattern (rainbows, flowers, stars, clouds), crystal balls, altar looking structures and rays.
The mouth with eyeballs in them –
In your life, there is always going to be people who will judge and talk crap about you but there will also be people who will see your hard work and spread good things about you. It's a duality depending on how you interpret it.
Rotating Smiley Face –
There is always ups and downs, persevere and good things will come your way. Be happy and smile.
Crystal Ball –
The future is never clear. Take it as it comes.
Opening and Closing Eyeballs –
In this age, people are exposed to so many things that one see things and forgets easily. Take for instance this gif, I want the audience to look at it, forget everything for that moment and move on.
The Pattern –
In the background, you see rainbow, flowers, stars and clouds. These are happy elements that I want the audience to experience. I chose these elements as they are fluffy, happy, and cute things.
Altar Looking Structures and Rays –
While looking at the gif, I am sending energy to you by the altar looking structure (the petals) and it generates into rays of hope and light.
← No expectations = No disappointments
Overall, I felt like I achieved my goal and had received positive feedbacks about my artwork. I am super thankful that the artwork garnered quite a bit of media coverage.
Special Thanks to Noise Singapore and Kult team for organising, curating, setting up the show and having me as part of it!!!