portfolio
2017 - Graduation
year written : 2017
I draw lines because it is something that I’ve been doing my whole life, therefore I have developed enough of a fa- miliarity and skill that allows me to forget about technique as I draw. It gives me time to myself, for me and myself to have a conversation in my mind and with every line, my subconscious takes over and my mind is learning some- thing new about itself. Line by line, I end up with a bigger and clearer picture about myself.
The artists I like are all unique in their own way. Some I like their art styles, while others their philosophies, or how their works make me feel. Some notable ones include Damien Hirst, David Firth, Francis Bacon, H.R. Giger and David Shrigley.
My main mediums of choice is archival ink. I choose lines because colour is not genuine to me as a colour blind in- dividual. It’s a lot easier for me to break down and control lines. Black and white is very graphic and architectural.
In today’s day and age it is very relevant because people’s lives go by so quick and we live so close to each other that we distance ourselves as much as possible because we long for personal space. We are now forced to act simpler and conceal our emotions and what we feel.
2018
year written : 2018
In this new series of works I was intrigued with how my current generation and its psyche differs from the past, with its huge strides in technological and societal advancements.
Before technological advancements have reached the levels they are at now, individuals needed to believe that the purpose they believed in was an objective and they attained this assurance through teachings espoused by what they considered ‘a superhuman authority’ i.e. religion. Ever since the 1900s, however, society has had a steady decline in its belief in God. Of course this started in the more western hemispheres of our world but slowly, with vast technological advancements since then and two world wars, the rest of the world quickly caught up. Technology has stopped advancing for the benefits of society, instead for leisure and addiction. People have lost the concept of belief, or faith, in their lives, and as such have lost their purpose.
This was my attempt to dive deeper into the effects that technological advancements have had on our psyche, in particular mine, as I believe growing up I’ve had a very different childhood than any generation before me, and I can see that all of my peers are the same. We’ve lost our purpose, but somehow deep down, programmed into our DNA, each and every one of us feel like there’s more to life than this.
I use a surrealistic approach to my works, in order to explore my psyche in more of an abstract level. Using fine ink allows me to almost meditate while drawing, as well as engages the audience in a way that I feel the generation now responds to in our fast paced, busy day to day lives. Of course, while I attempt commentary on the overarching generational psyche, my art is still very personal and focused on myself and my mind and experiences.
2019
notes of the year :
kim's dad diagnosed with cancer and passed / kneecap dislocated and was immobilised / half a year in excruciating recovery / pulled through recovery to go on a solo trip with kim to UK and Europe.
2020 - Way Out Solo Show
written by Ellen Lee
Way-Out is the debut solo showcase by emerging Malaysian artist, Silas Oo, and the first in our series of open-ended projects surveying artists’ processes and developments. Spanning works from 2014 to 2020, the exhibition features six large works of acrylic and ink, flanked by some smaller paintings and studies which act as forms of meditative catharsis amid times of massive uncertainty.
The six large works opening up the exhibition reflect the visual saturation of the Internet, loaded with cultural references and extremely fine details like a net- work of nerves, or an intricate web. Everything happens all at once — pop culture characters anachronistically traverse across each other’s fictional territories, or into reality, under the strain of information overload which has become the de- fault condition of the 21st-century psyche. The saturation produces a visual and emotional fatigue; glazed eyes seeking out the next stimulant, until eventually the fatigue settles into a reflexive sense of detached irony towards the world. Oo’s works are populated by corpses and deformed figures, either sleeping or grinning pointlessly into the void. They lie lethargic within the four walls of the canvas, allowing themselves to rot and abstract from reality.
The painting bliss (2020) was the signalled departure away from the fine saturation of the other five large paintings and into more meditative and experimental territory. Resembling a colour-filtered Windows XP desktop background flattened into geometric shapes, two contrasting voids — white and black — open up within the painting, symbolising entrances into enlightenment or the abyss.
From there, Oo produced the various smaller experimental works which are created with more abandon compared to his previously tight and detailed lines, thus culminating in the hidden and private decaptych, Driving series (2020). It begins with an expulsion of text and emotion, then an abrupt scene cut to the quietude of ruminative driving in a solitary forest... then the return to the void, back to black.
notes of the year : separated from Kim / pandemic
early 2021
notes of the year : pandemic / depression / toxic relationship / quarter life crisis / overcoming various addictions
late 2021 - 2022
notes of the year : healing / back together and moved in with kim / set up a studio work space outside of home
A Temporary Self group show statement :
written in 2022
STILL SEARCHING, AREN’T WE ALL?
“One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” - Albert Camus.
The turn of the century turned out to be much more challenging than I had anticipated. Time would reveal to me how unready I was to face hell, for it was hell of which I faced.
Encapsulated under the umbrella of my ever growing “Return To Form” series, these collections were brought forth under the weight of crippling circumstances. I dare say they saved my life. They explore feelings of helplessness, addiction, trauma, chaos and pain, but also the magnificence of discipline, affirmation, stoicism and truth.
We Are The Walls Within Which We Confine was conceived as my perception of my world around me during the lockdown. The same four walls every single day, closing in and drowning, reinforcing nihilism, fantasy and addiction. These pieces were my way of ostracising delusion, a ritualistic cleanse of an insurmountable time-induced weight.
Feelings That Cannot Be Named was spawned as a natural evolution, with me ironically trying to leave the negative headspace by exploring materials used in leather tanning, or the preservation of skin as I prefer to call it. Within this series lies themes of mortality, faith, and living forever. I wanted to continue capturing humanity and its flawed, deconstructivist mind with straight lines and geometric monolithic shapes.
Each of the Skin and Bones pieces allowed me to encapsulate a certain feeling that I had wished to express in a given time frame. They framed my experiences by marrying them with technical draftsmanship and my love for the human anatomy; and as a result explore themes of reflection, honesty, drudgery and presence. The figure is torn apart and reconstructed into comprehensible (artificial) shapes, highlighting the human mind’s propensity for simplification yet again.
Last but not least, Of Addiction and Heartbreak is presented as a culmination of my exploration of both figurative anatomy and the mind and soul. The ribcage encloses and protects the heart and lungs, which for a long period in my life I had treated very poorly. Each piece is a mix of 3D printing and resin, with the intention to emphasise the importance of tangibility.
feelings that cannot be named
skin and bones
the grim
series notes :
In the past two years I went through something akin to what psychologists might describe as a dual diagnosis - depression/anxiety and addiction. Chronically low levels of dopamine and quick rushes of endorphins through temporary highs fuelled a lost shell of a man going through life in survival mode.
Typically dual diagnosis makes it a lot harder for someone to treat one problem (the mental illness aspect) because of the other (the addiction/substance abuse aspect). This creates a massive positive feedback loop that can become incredibly drowning and hard to fight.
Through my experiences this isn’t as uncommon as it may seem, especially since covid began. I’ve heard of, experienced, enabled, and been forced to handle much, much worse symptoms than my own, and in turn found myself at the lowest point of my own life, with no one to really turn to.
Eventually I decided to turn my life around, but it wasn’t easy by any means. I went through months of urges, relapse, huge dramatic anxiety fuelled attempts to find relief, course corrections, and pain.
One of the things that helped me break out of this state was creating. I created and created, constantly trying ways to express myself in complete genuineness, works for myself and no other. Occasionally aimless, but always relentless. It tore down emotional and spiritual walls, and ‘breakthroughs’ would happen every now and then.
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During this period, my insomnia worsened drastically, I didn’t dream much, but when I did somehow these dark figures plagued them. Dreams of being lost in and running through childhood places turned into dreams of cloaked, hooded reapers and death. Apocalyptic death.
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Having dreams of an apocalypse happening often represents a change or a shift in the waking life, the subconscious fighting one’s instinctual nature and destructive thoughts, weakness and deception within the self.
The shadow as known in Carl Jung’s list of archetypes consists of the sex and life instincts. The shadow exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings. The shadow forms out of our attempts to adapt to cultural norms and expectations.
Over these past few months I have come face to face with it, fought it, learned it, sat with it. Allowing myself to grieve, forgive and live with myself was a psychological battle I still face to this day, luckily, to much more ease than before - at least for now.
Now all I want is to manage my creativity and not burn out. I want to create like my life depends on it, as it fuelled me these past few months, but without any of the panic, anxiety and fear that came with it. We can never get rid of our shadows, we just learn to live above them.
- The Grim series is about the demon within. Inspired from a dream of battling demons but come to realise that the demon is the self and everything the eyes find fault within. I want to encapsulate everything I’ve been through, like a cleanse, and put a spotlight on my demons, my shadow, to show it in its full light, before I can move on.
misc works
play series
series notes :
I have been reminded lately of my childhood love for toys. I cherished mine and treated them as precious commodities. It was weirdly irrational - I wouldn’t ‘play’ with them in a normal sense, wouldn’t dream of clashing two of them together to make exploding noises, oh no. They were far too precious for that.
I took to admiring them instead, and could spend hours just turning them around observing all the little intricacies of the sculpt work and detailing. I believe this was partly due to my rigid and religious upbringing.
Continuing on the path of deconstructing my own visual language and understanding of form, I wanted to create monolithic toys that presented an aura of reverence. Monastic representations of a corruptible faith. Something to play with. To be seduced by. To be obsessed with.
The idols of the nations are silver and gold, made by human hands.
They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see.
They have ears, but cannot hear, nor is there breath in their mouths.
Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.
- Psalms 135:15-18
2023
notes of the year : pursuing art seriously / full time
limulus
“Limulus” is a sculptural piece handmade with leather, its shape and form resembles a horseshoe crab.
The horseshoe crab symbolises one’s sense of self-worth, value and potential. As I am entering my mid to late 20s, I have found a need to reassess myself, my habits and point of views to navigate this evolving world.
I resonate with this creature as I recently had been reflecting on my experiences and interests in my childhood. The horseshoe crab is a creature that had withstood the test of time and remained primitive, which I find comfort in their enduring and surviving form. It helps ground me and reminds me that I sometimes put more pressure toward myself than necessary, towards my own choices and thoughts - like this creature that had not changed its form for over 300 million years, there is no fault in merely existing, and letting existence flow through me.
Choosing to take on the challenge in putting more of my interests into my practice, the tedious and repetitive nature of the hand-sewing and crafting process allowed me to pour my soul into my work and to hunker down and focus only in the moment to create a beautiful tactile protective shell made of leather. Leather is a material I had always resonated since my early 20s as it is a tough, durable material but soft to the touch. Its physical form is akin to human skin, a protective layer over something tender and fragile underneath. It somehow reminds me of who we are as people - or rather what we are - the warmth of the flesh, and the certainty of death.
Let's Grow Old Together series
This is a collaborative series of works between Silas Oo and Kimberley Boudville. We wanted to represent our experiences as we embark on a life together, navigating our mid to late 20s.
The crashing waves against rocks evokes a timeless scene of both beauty and danger. To us, the crashing waves represent the challenges and obstacles of life, whereas the rocks are the unmoving stability, the fortress of uncompromising strength. As we grow into our adulthoods, we are constantly trying to find our place in the world, to find our rock which in turn is both our core and our home.
Just as the waves relentlessly pound against the rocks, life can feel like a never-ending struggle full of turmoil and chaos, shaping us and our character as we find out who we truly are and what we stand for.
The film-like layering that is meant to evoke a dreamscape is accompanied by compartmentalised sections of focus throughout the lucid experience that is life.
Ultimately, this piece is a representation of the journey we all take as we mature, facing the unknown with determination and courage, and finding our true home in the world and within ourselves.
The Tree and Its Roots serve as a metaphor for faith, the journey of growing up and the importance of staying true to one’s own path.
As long as the sun shall rise, so too shall we. Just as a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. Nor does it worry in a year of drought, never failing to bear fruit.
Although life can be tough, and the day to day can sometimes feel like too much to bear, it’s easy to forget about the moments of happiness that can plague our bitter hearts. We wanted this piece to be a permanent reminder - to stay planted in oneself and never lose sight of the bigger picture.
series in progress
Return To Form
final notes
conversation between Silas and Kim
S : What do you think of my works?
K : I think the works in general are different from western art. (Western art is a superhero complex = making statements/ change the world / I want to scream and shout. Whereas southeast-asian art is storytelling. It’s emotional, it comes from a place where we make the works for ourselves and if we show it and resonates with the audience then that is a bonus.) However, your works in general have a lot of western influence, especially in film. But these influences we have are so far away, they feel like a dream and only a dream. It’s something we will never be able to achieve in our lifetime as it is now merely a recorded memory in human history, so now these people and culture become aspirations to achieve something similar; to become a fond memory.
You grew up being this boy in a third world country that could only aspire to be this great artist he admires so much and couple that with your own thoughts/insecurities/feelings about how you look or how you are criticised. Your childhood traumas of being bullied for the way you look or your own self hate on your own body. That’s why your work evokes so much of body horror because it’s the way you choose to express the worst of the worst scenarios of yourself. That’s why you choose to work the way you do and it has this aesthetic visual symbolism.
S : Growing up religious / Sort of self flagellation / to look inwards what wrong with yourself.
K : Growing up in our (asian) culture, we are taught to keep our thoughts and feelings to ourselves, we don’t show them, we don’t make a fuss. We don’t cause trouble, and we blend into the background. It is so engrained into us to work as a team/community/nation. It’s how we are brought up. In a way we feel so stunted cause we have no hero or nobody that speaks up for things need to be spoke up for. But it has made us into really great storytellers and expressers of our own personal thoughts.
S : It’s funny because I would never describe my art as storytelling because I find it so hard to convey a narrative.
K : It isn’t your initial intention to tell a story, it was something for you to express yourself. It is like writing a diary, it isn’t meant for anybody. It is for you to vomit out your emotions/thoughts/feelings and all that. That is what your art is about. It is meant for yourself and yourself only. And if anybody comes and it resonates with it, it becomes a Rorschach test. It's intimate. It's private. That what’s makes it so powerful because it connects people to your work in a way that they see themselves, too.