Random Blends – The First CNM Exhibition Wows Crowd

Chin Mei Kuan | mk.chin@nus.edu.sg
Lee Meixian | meixian@nus.edu.sg
the ridge news
A NUSSU Publication

“Though we are young, we are here. And we are going to impact Singapore’s communication industry.”

That was the promise delivered by Dr. Milagros Rivera, head of the Communications and New Media (CNM) department, speaking at the official launch of “Random Blends,” the department’s first public exhibition on Feb 27, 2009.

At the same time, the department was celebrating its tenth anniversary at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

On display from Feb 28 to Mar 8 at the 2902 Gallery, Old School at Mount Sophia, the multimedia exhibition is a showcase of over 80 pieces of art works, consisting of photographs, storybooks, videos, video games and posters.

These were created by second-year to fourth-year students from the various design courses offered at CNM.

What was unique about this exhibition was that it was an entirely student-initiated effort, from the production and reproduction of the works to the garnering of sponsorships and generating of publicity.

This was also the first time all the students involved were participating in an exhibition.

According to Lim Chen Guo, a third-year CNM student and assistant curator of “Random Blends”, the idea to have this exhibition first came up in his Digital Photography and Imaging class.

The class had decided that to hold their end-of-semester exhibition outside school instead of following the tradition of holding it in the Central Library.

Lim said that Dr. Milagros Rivera was supportive of the idea and expanded it to include works from other design modules as well. However, the majority of the works displayed are still photographic work nevertheless.

Said Lim, “In fact, we are the first school in Singapore to integrate many different multimedia elements into one exhibition.”

This is not the only ‘first’ for the department.

Exhibitions of this nature are common with fine arts students, but for a multidisciplinary programme like CNM, this is definitely a new first.
For third-year CNM major, Shen Shifa, the demands of helping to organize this public exhibition were great but the rewards were well worth it.

“Yes, the preparation leading up to the opening day was really tough. My recess week was practically burnt because almost every day was spent preparing for it,” he said

“But I made some really good friends through this exhibition. They are a great bunch to work with. And seeing the happy faces on the opening day made me feel that it was worth the effort,” he added.

Indeed, the problems the team met, from sourcing for an exhibition venue to selecting publishing materials and looking for funding and sponsorships, were overwhelming at times.

Fortunately, they had help from a mentor, Miss Chiang Jing Ying, a CNM lecturer.

“There were times when I had to step in to make minor changes to their displays, because after all, this is their first time and they are still inexperienced,” said Miss Chiang,

“But it was very pleasant working with them because they are very receptive and willing to learn. They didn’t bring with them any conflicts and egos like most artists I have worked in the past. Even under tension and tight time constraints, they worked very well as a team.”

It appears that many who attended the launch liked what they saw. In fact, they would like to see more of such opportunities for students to exhibit their works made available in future semesters.

Dr. Leanne Chang, assistant professor from the CNM department said, “I think that we should continue with this. The artworks look different in a gallery, compared to seeing them as student submissions in school,” she said.
Genevieve Yeo, a second-year CNM student would like to take part in the exhibition if there is a chance for her to do so.

Currently taking a visual design module, she found the exhibition helpful. “It is important to expose myself to designs by different people so that I can better understand how they work from to achieve the objectives of their design,” she said.

When asked which was her favourite artwork, she pointed out second year CNM student Lim Hern Khoon’s colour spectrum piece.

It was series of photographs of himself experiencing different emotions, in which every emotion was matched with a corresponding colour. He had intended to portray the effect different people have on his usual cheerful self, such that eventually, he finds his face blank, from confusion and fatigue.

The warm response received by this first exhibition has led the CNM department to discuss the possibility of holding a similar public exhibition every year.

Even visitors from outside NUS had praises for the exhibition, like Jonathan Ng, who had to climb several flights of stairs in a humid back alley to reach the exhibition gallery, but said that “the flight of stairs was worth it.”