Definition of Exogenesis
The theme of the exhibition has a really big word – Exogenesis. I have to unpack this before I know how to respond to it. Breaking up this big word, there are two parts to it – “exo” and “genesis”. Exo generally means outside or external, or beyond. Genesis of course means origin or beginning. With the subtitle as Eden from Creation, so naturally genesis refers to the Garden of Eden.
I want to look at life beyond the beginning, the Garden of Eden. I believe in a creator God and thus the source and origin of life at the beginning is not a question for me. Life beyond the beginning is where this journey is taking me. This exploration takes me deep into my belief system and worldview, which is very much guided by my faith.
My exploration is presented as 3 visual narratives – the start, the now and the end.
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THE START
Title: baby eden
Artwork Size: 265mm x 380mm
Frame Size: 390mm x 520mm
Medium: Ink and sumi-e on 180gsm gouache paper
Year Completed: 2024
baby eden is the first narrative of my three responses for Exogenesis
According to the Bible, life on Earth began in the Garden of Eden, an idyllic and harmonious paradise. However, an encounter with the conniving serpent at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil shattered the blissful atmosphere for Adam and Eve in the garden with God.
I find it hard to reconcile the harmonious part like how can insects like mosquitoes and cockroaches not be pests?!
Perhaps life had grown too predictable, and Eve craved something more. This made the snake’s proposal all the more tempting. Maybe Eden was not meant to be a permanent home, as perfect as it was.
Why I think so is also because in the Bible it recorded that there is gold in one of the rivers that flowed out of Eden. It seems like the Creator God does have intentions for Adam and Eve to move beyond Eden, where He deposited gold. I believe that there is beyond eden, the beginning. It is not meant to be it. The Creator hid gold beyond and outside of Eden. Why would He do that unless He has intentions for Adam and Eve to expand beyond Eden.
“Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads. The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.”
Genesis 2:10-12 NKJV
The expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden marks the start of humanity’s story.
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THE NOW
Title: BabyLone
Artwork Size: 265mm x 380mm
Frame Size: 390mm x 520mm
Medium: Ink and sumi-e on 180gsm gouache paper
Year Completed: 2024
BabyLone is the second narrative of my three responses for Exogenesis
From the time that we left Eden, people have made remarkable strides to shape the world that we know today. In this artwork, the five tallest buildings globally are highlighted: Burj Khalifa (Dubai), Merdeka 118, Shanghai Tower, Abraj Al-Bait Clock Tower (Saudi Arabia), and Lotte World Tower.
However, as we continue to build, we often forget about the land we construct on and what it means to be human. It appears that we may be on the path to self-destruction in more ways than one. The red in the background represents earth, but also the fire of global warming. The blue at the bottom represents the rising sea level with the melting of the glaciers.
SUSTAINABILITY is the buzz word now. It dawned on us that we are depleting our world faster than it is replenishing. It feels like we are on the road to self-destruction with our construction. Quite an irony. Humanity’s search beyond the beginning is leading us to an end that are not looking forward to.
Is humanity doomed for eventual destruction?
I added strokes of sparkling blue in the sky as I believe that the Spirit that hovers the earth before and during creation is still around.
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THE END
Title: B-Infinity
Artist: Pauline Phoon
Maker: Florence Ng of Synergraphic Design Pte Ltd
Artwork Size: 800mm x 800mm, 650mm x 650mm and 250mm x 250mm. Customisation of size is available.
Medium: 4 layers of low iron glass and mirror using mix processes. Dichroic film and iridescent opalescent glass. Assembled in an aluminium box painted in black finish.
Year Completed: 2024
The final part of my response to Exogenesis concludes with the end of humanity following the progression from the beginning in part 1 to the present in part 2. The Bible not only depicts the genesis but also foretells an apocalyptic end marked by catastrophe and extensive devastation. Fortunately, this catastrophic end is not the ultimate conclusion.
As the familiar world comes to a close, a new perfected world emerges. This new realm, comprising a new heaven and earth, is not shaped by human efforts but by divine grace. Unlike the current round globe, the new world is presented as a cube, adorned with streets of gold, walls of purest precious stones, and a continuous flow of life-giving water from its source. At the centre lies the throne of God, emitting a brilliance that outshines the need for sun or moon.
The use of glass in this depiction symbolises the pure radiance and clarity of the gold and precious stones in this infinite-dimensional world. The cube is surrounded by twelve pearl gates, of which nine are depicted in this artwork, due to rules of perspective. The River of Life surrounds it, evoking thoughts of a complete rainbow spectrum emerging. Envision the magnificence of the mansions within this new world and contemplate the life it holds for those who inhabit it.
Below is one of the Spotify tracks that I meditated on before and during the creating process.
Gleanings
This is the first time I work on glass. Of course excluding the times as a kid where we did very small stain glass painting as craft work. I am thankful for Florence, Jeremy and Sara of Synergraphic Design who so willingly work alongside with me, despite my crazy and unconventional ideas. Plus, we had a short runway. It was so hard to translate what is in my mind, the intangible, into tangible where people can touch and see. Perhaps that is why it is so hard to understand the book of Revelation as the vision or experience is outside of his world, with so many aspects that he does not have vocabulary to describe. I had to work at articulating this vision of the new heaven and new earth that I have in my head, of course strongly informed by Revelation 21 & 22, and I know it is not even close to the beauty of what it actually is. It is infinite-dimension and our finite dimension is only able to snatch a smallest of smallest facet of it.
