voonky

for you who care & love our environment

I am delighted to present The Tales of Knot after Knot, an art installation consisting of a carpet tower and three hand-drawn ink sketches that are inspired by folklores. The carpet tower that occupies the room serves as a tangible object that allows the audience to touch and feel the carpet. The three sketches are deconstructions of selected stories and re-compositions of these stories into visual images that question our perception of the everyday ‘carpet’.

My first sketch is translated from the classic folklore - The Three Princes and the Princess Nouronihar where the carpet becomes a trans-dimensional tool - an ordinary object that transgresses the physical boundary of space and time. My sketch manifests the concept of ‘teleportation’. The grid is an abstraction of parallel time and spaces while merging into a single moment of imagination. My second sketch is picturing a scenario of a girl and a cat taking a nap on the carpet. It is juxtaposed with The Carpet People who are smaller than a dust particle and live in the world of a carpet. It reframes our perspective of the world and twists our perception of scale and space. The last story is about The Carpet Makers who make carpet out of hairs for the Emperor. My interpretation is about a carpet maker who lives inside a hair dryer. It shows a view from the hair dryer that frames a girl having her hair cut and the carpet maker quietly hand knotting a hair carpet.

the tales of knot after knot ...

voonky x studio surplus (Singapore) present

-The Tales of Knot after Knot -

at SingaPlural 2016

7-13 March 2016

11am-10pm daily

99 Beach Road

Singapore

- The Tales of Knot after Knot -

an art and design installation at SingaPlural2016 l Singapore

A sensory experience where rugs made of waste industrial rubber tires, discarded Afghanistan refugee war tents are repurposed into new by Papilio- the recycled rugs come to life in a cone tower installation that celebrates the beauty of up cycling. 

The installation is a carpet cone tower of 2.2 m height, formed by 6 panels of rugs. Visitors are encouraged to rest, sit and touch the carpet tower. This whole bodily contact refreshes purpose of materials, and the multi dimensional use of rugs in our living.

ABOUT DESIGNER

温科阳 Voon Ke Yang ( a.k.a voonky )

Voon Ke Yang was born in Malaysia and educated in Singapore, received degrees in architecture from National University of Singapore (2006-2012). He spent half a year in Tsinghua University (2009) during his Year 4 Student Exchange Program. He was president of The Architecture Society 30th Committee in 2010. He has involved in several exhibition installation namely (2007) Dr. Lai Chee Kien’s “Building Merdeka: Independence Architecture in Kuala Lumpur, 1957-1966”, (2010) CONCEIVE: The NUS Architecture City Exhibition 2010, and (2012) Hong Kong Shenzhen Bi-City Biennale at Kowloon Park. In year (2014), his first solo exhibition- “See You Soon My Views” showed a series of his window sketches over the years of travelling. Voon Ke Yang was nominated for the RIBA’s The Presidents Medals Student Awards in 2009. He has participated in the 14th-ARCASIA student jamboree in Lahore, Pakistan. He obtained his hands-on experience during his year-out internship in TERRE Pte.Ltd. (2011). After graduated from school, he decided to join CSYA Pte. Ltd. (2012 till now) to work on building projects across region. 

Voon Ke Yang like to observe and put thoughts into fine lines. He gives attention to the relationship between the built-environment and the inhabitants. He captures the view and atmosphere of a place through a window by mean of sketches. In addition, he expresses his daily encounter and experience through words that pair with these intimate drawings.

CYCLO - handmade rugs from Belgium

The humble inner tube has been given a second life following it’s enduring service in the world’s most popular transportation mode, the bicycle. Men and women collect from their local repair shops the worn tubes which would otherwise end up in land fill or slum neighbourhoods. These tubes are slit and crafted into a woven structure - CYCLO rug. No chemicals nor finishing products are used in the manufacturing process resulting in a truly honest and eco-responsible recycled product. Silent witnesses being the tube size markings still visible from the previous owner, left there to tell it’s lifetime story. The sturdy rug is also suitable for outdoor use.

CANVAS - handmade rugs from Belgium

STOP the WAR! Rugs made of Recycled Army Tents. Every piece is unique, every scratch is an untold story. This CANVAS rug, part of the Memorial collection, was created by Papilio to remember and honor our loved ones who lost their lives during the worldwide wars. This specific rug is made of Recycled Army tents with a cross stitch technique in leather.

- The Tales of Knot after Knot - three selected fairy tales about carpet

The Three Princes and the Princess Nouronihar 

i pick up this classic folklore from the Arabian nights (or the one thousand and one nights date back as far as the ninth century) that introduces the fantasy side of a magical carpet. It is commonly known as the version of flying carpet that appeared in one of the Disney production- Aladdin (1992).  However, magic carpet in the context of this Arabian folklore is not a ‘flying carpet’, it is a carpet that can teleport its user to anyplace that he/she can think of. It portrays the power of the carpet’s master and seems to be a metaphor for one’s desire to extend his will and power as far as his mind can reach. Hope you enjoy reading it too.

footnote:

- The Tales of Knot after Knot - three selected fairy tales about carpet

The Carpet People

This young adult novel was first published in 1971 and later was re-edited by the same author (Terry Pratchett) after 26 years. It frames our perspective of a world that is the size of a carpet, and the people who live in the carpet are the size that  is smaller than a dust particle. From architectural point of view, i like the twist of our perception of scale and space about a carpet. How the Carpet People live in a world of dust, hairs and missing thread in the loom. Which i believe each carpet has a living soul to it. Shall we indulge ourselves in this world of imagination or sometimes just have to change our perspective to the world?

footnote:

-The Tales of Knot after Knot- three selected fairy tales about carpet

The Carpet Makers

Carpet that is made out of hairs from the Emperor and the Emperor’s daughters. Although the novel was written from a first-person narrative of a carpet makers , it also carry with it the different shade of life and people around the main character and his carpet. I believe every ordinary household has a ordinary carpet that tell stories. The ‘magic carpet’ that appears in the Arabian folklore, has traveled across the boundary of time. In today context, you may find a 9th century handmade carpet from India is nicely laid on the marble floor in a grand hotel lobby in Singapore. 

footnote: