Fyerool Darma & Matthew Teo
1 November – 6 December 2017
...
Beyond...
boundless oceans and vast skies,
I swirl afar with a chilled heart,
chasing the wind and rain
(I was)
Unable to find traces in the mist...
Forgive me for being unruly or untamed,
for I love the freedom all my life.
(But)
I fear I would wither someday
(Now - We)
Abandon the ideal (For a life of ease)
For this isle (it) kept my mourn –
I am tired for love.
∞
written by Si Anu or Shama Bird
(presumably in 1980s)
These are attempts at composing a quiet duet, adapted from a popular anthem that is sung commonly during occasions of conviviality and harmony, whether privately or publicly.
A collaboration between Fyerool Darma and Matthew Teo, Beyond... boundless oceans and the vast skies is anchored by an image extracted from a series of street scenes by Matthew. Composed between 2011−2017, the photographs recorded quiet scenes in public places, capturing the pervasive melancholy of modern life in a generic city state. Within this chosen image, visual cues are repeated and reiterated, and a fleeting sentiment shifts between fact and fiction, suspended for perpetuity. Responding to the unmediated relationship between text and image, Fyerool places common objects and textiles sourced from within the vicinity of where the photograph was composed.
While the exercise stems from futile ground, the dreamlike compositional quality and filtered embellishments become gestures in venerating quotidian conversations on affections, hopes, desires, and their precipitations.
Artwork Photography by Matthew Teo. Courtesy of the artists and I_S_L_A_N_D_S