Putting things into my head : a zine on display in the 25x25 exhibition at SMU de Suantio Gallery during the 2025 Arts Fest
This is a pdf capture of the zine created by Janice Loke for the 2025 Arts Fest 25x25 exhibition which contains a poetry inspired by Bill Woodrow's sculpture "Sitting on History I" (2003).
"I initially thought the ball-and-chain shackling a book in Bill Woodrow’s Sitting on History I (2003) made a mockery of Singapore’s stressful education system where students feel trapped and have nowhere to go. However, the artist’s notes gave me a new perspective. It’s not so much the artwork, but rather, the perspective of the viewer that makes interpreting art so dynamic.
While writing this piece, I named it “Uncultured Swines” originally as I placed myself in my persona’s shoes. Here, my persona is from a rural village where patriarchy and misogyny are prevalent. Her guile and her thirst for education makes her an outcast as she doesn’t fit into their vision for girls. With my anger towards such unfairness happening in the real world even till now, I had decided to use that insult as the title.
It was after discussing with my mentor that I realised I’ve unironically fallen into the trap of literally restraining myself to my persona’s viewpoint, just like the ball-and-chain imagery of the sculpture. Hence, I decided to try for a more neutral approach and ended up choosing Putting things into my head as the final title. Additionally, I believe this decision adds depth to my persona’s character as she flits around her new findings and propriety." - Janice Loke, Year 3, School of Accountancy
"I initially thought the ball-and-chain shackling a book in Bill Woodrow’s Sitting on History I (2003) made a mockery of Singapore’s stressful education system where students feel trapped and have nowhere to go. However, the artist’s notes gave me a new perspective. It’s not so much the artwork, but rather, the perspective of the viewer that makes interpreting art so dynamic.
While writing this piece, I named it “Uncultured Swines” originally as I placed myself in my persona’s shoes. Here, my persona is from a rural village where patriarchy and misogyny are prevalent. Her guile and her thirst for education makes her an outcast as she doesn’t fit into their vision for girls. With my anger towards such unfairness happening in the real world even till now, I had decided to use that insult as the title.
It was after discussing with my mentor that I realised I’ve unironically fallen into the trap of literally restraining myself to my persona’s viewpoint, just like the ball-and-chain imagery of the sculpture. Hence, I decided to try for a more neutral approach and ended up choosing Putting things into my head as the final title. Additionally, I believe this decision adds depth to my persona’s character as she flits around her new findings and propriety." - Janice Loke, Year 3, School of Accountancy