Artist SpeakJack Youngblood on Excelsior Mortis! |
| By Post-Museum | |||||
 Two years ago, Jack Youngblood came to Singapore from London’s prestigious Goldsmiths’ College. He is having his second one-man show here in Singapore and is rapidly gaining something of a cult following as a maker of striking digital images that involve zombies, spaceships and lunar landscapes. I know that you teach digital painting at NTU as Martin Constable but make work as Jack Youngblood. How did Jack Youngblood come about? I felt the need to be saying things with my work using a creative voice that didn’t sound quite like my own. He is a device, like a sock puppet. What is your obsession with the aging spaceman? I feel that he is the perfect all-purpose contemporary metaphor. We live in zombie times where the certainties of our childhoods have become like the walking dead. I really like the way you research about Photoshop, its history, development etc. It is a natural reflex of any artist to investigate the history of their medium. By doing so one can more clearly understand its cultural significance and how this might underwrite one’s own creative choices. Can you tell us a bit more about why Photoshop is your medium of choice? I fell into using it by accident and have used it ever since because nothing better has come along till now. I feel that it is showing its age as a piece of software but it remains the biggest act in town as far as image editing goes. I now am starting to augment my images using other software, so I have not been so frustrated by its limitations. How does your work relate to painting and film? I am completely horny for big, well-produced, sci-fi blockbusters. Their sublime production values are a big inspiration to me and I have made a point of getting to know many people in the film production industry. As for painting, my many years as a painter have soaked their way into my creative DNA to an extent that their influence cannot be removed. How is your work in this exhibition different from that in your previous shows in Singapore? It is bigger and with a broader range of work. I have tried to use some of the varied range of resources available to me here at my faculty. I have been trying to master the rapid-prototyping technology here with which it is possible to actually print 3D work. Also, one of the key points of the show is that it is the result of a residency at the gaming company Ksatria. Obviously, the material that this has exposed me to has had an effect on my work. You are developing a game from your series of work. Can you share a bit about that? I will be using a game engine to tell some stories. I like the non-linearity possible with such means and I also like story-telling. Its exact nature will depend upon me finding the right people to work with. I love what is happening in the contemporary gaming scene. Its visuals, story-telling traditions and audience engagement are fast rivalling that of the film world. This column is presented by Post-Museum, an independent cultural centre in Little India which seeks to examine contemporary life, promote the arts and connect people. For more details, visit www.post-museum.org or call 63963598. Excelsior Mortis! will be held at Post-Museum from 11 October to 2 November 2008.
log in to write comments
Powered by !JoomlaComment 3.25
3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved." |
|||||
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
the realm of psychedelia by Loh Khee Yew:
