Pouring Her All Into Dancing with Stone

| TUESDAY,JUNE 25,2019 | THESTRAITS TIMES | arts life D3 Han Sai Por fell in love with the purity of a type Pouring of white stone called han bai yu, which she discovered about 10 years ago in China and uses it to create some of her new her all into works. ST PHOTO: dancing SHINTARO TAY with stone While she finds painting more relaxing, artist Han Sai Por respects the demands of sculpting, channelling her physical energy into her works Ong Sor Fern distraction of colour.” Senior Culture Correspondent The paintings, fluid with movement, were inspired by her observa- tions of the effect of wind in forests Cataract surgery two months ago and the power of typhoon storms in did not slow down sculptor Han Sai southern China, where she often Por. Despite the doctor’s advice to travels to for work. avoid heavy lifting, she was deep “When the wind blows, you can into preparations for her new solo see the movement of the wind in exhibition. the trees. It creates energy and Dance With The Wind, which movement and gives life to the for- opens at iPreciation on July 5, does est.” not have the monumental stone She enjoys the process of paint- works Han is known for. But it does ing much more than sculpting. have more than 10 sculptures and “With sculpting, there is the cut- 12 acrylic on canvas works. Prices ting, noise, dust and sweat. With start at $30,000. painting, you can sit with a fan, sit The 76-year-old Cultural Medal- back on a sofa. Your brain calms lion recipient says she avoided down, it’s more quiet.” using machines after her surgery, The artist admits regretfully that which meant she had to manually age is taking a toll on her and she polish the sculptures, a more time- might do more painting in the consuming process. future. “I feel like I have no energy, Still, she was heaving the pieces, especially in the past two years.” which weigh between 12kg and She relies on factories now for 15kg each. It is hard to believe that her large-scale commissioned work the petite artist has enough as she is not confident of handling strength to wrestle such weights. the heavy machinery needed to cut The new works are hewn from a huge slabs of rock. type of white stone called han bai But she will supervise the work yu, which is harder than marble and closely and, for smaller works, she costs about $5,933 for one cubic still makes everything by hand. metre. In comparison, the best “The work is an expression of my Carrera marble from Italy can cost imagination.” up to $30,000 per cubic metre. Decades of using brute force to Han discovered the material battle stone has left marks on her about 10 years ago in China when tiny frame. She turns around to she saw young Chinese artists work- show how her right shoulder blade ety (Singapore), Han often mentors The ‘accidental’ artist ing in the medium. juts out, giving her back a distinct younger artists. In fact, her exhi- VIEW IT / DANCE WITH THE The soft-spoken artist adds wryly hump, compared with her leftshoul- bition was slightly delayed because WIND – A SOLO EXHIBITION that when she found out then that der. “I use my right arm to hammer she took a group of 11 younger BY HAN SAI POR one cubic metre cost US$2,000 to the stone and my left hand to hold artists to China on a week-long • Born onJuly19, 1943, inSingapore sketching touristsoutside Paris’ US$3,000 (S$2,700 to S$4,000), “I the chisel. Granite is very hard. work trip. “A sculptor really needs WHERE: iPreciation, 01-01 HPL duringthe Japanese Occupation, PompidouCentre. said, ‘Wah, so expensive.’” When you hit it, it rings out like physical experience, the hands-on House, 50 Cuscaden Road Han Sai Por was one of six • ReturnedtoSingapore in 1983 But she fell in love with the purity metal and your hand bounces thing,” she says. children. Her uneducatedmother and was one of two teacherswho of the stone. back.” A smile crosses her face as she WHEN: July 5 to 20, 10am – 7pm scavenged at Changi Beach to kickedoff the Art Elective She adds that crystals in it also She is matter of fact about the adds: “The younger artists are very (weekdays); 11am – 6pm support the familyand her father Programme at Nanyang Girls’ lend it an iridescent shimmer. physical toll her work has taken on good. Each one did one or two (Saturdays); Sundays and public was often ill. But Han remembers HighSchool. The elegant, organic whorls of her. Her elfin face, half hidden be- pieces. They have a lot of energy.” holidays by appointment only a “happy and free” childhood, • Tookuppart-time teachingat her new works, inspired by palm hind owlish, Harry Potter round Despite a career filled with prizes buildingsandfigurines at Changi. Nafaand LaSalle-SIA College of fronds, glisten with an ethereal spectacle frames, is often serious, and accolades, she confesses to wor- ADMISSION: Free She first encountered the works Art todevotemore timetoher art. sparkle, thanks to these crystals. but softens when she talks about rying when she has to fulfil big INFO: Go to www.ipreciation.com/ of Michelangelowhen she was 10, She also lecturedpart-time at the There are also several stainless art. commissions. dance-with-the-wind-a-solo- ina bookher mother bought for National Institute of Education steel works which are “much She is self-deprecating despite She demurs when asked why she exhibition-by-han-sai-por her. and Nanyang Technological lighter”, she adds. her status as a pioneering Singa- chose sculpting: “It’s very hard to • Graduated fromTeachers’ Universityfrom1994to1995. or call 6339-0678 Steel pieces, she muses, interact pore sculptor. give an answer. I myself don’t TrainingCollege in 1968and • Heldher first solo exhibitionat differently with the spaces they are But even a pioneer artist has con- know.” workedas a full-time teacher. She the National Museum Art Gallery displayed in. “I like the reflection. It cerns on her mind. She worries that She recalls that when she was tookpart-time courses at the in1993. captures the environment.” her application to renew the lease studying fine art in England, she veys a deep respect of the demands Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts • Awarded the Cultural Medallion The sculptural works in pristine on her studio at Goodman Arts Cen- was told her teachers were good at of her craft. “Sculpture is physical. (Nafa)from 1975to1977. in1995. Since then she has white and polished metal are a con- tre might not be accepted. She lives three-dimensional works, so she You can touch and walk around it. • LeftSingapore in 1979to study at collected a slew of other awards, trast to the dynamic black-and- with her sister in a flat, so she needs took up sculpting. And there was a After you feel the sweat, the hard the East Ham College of Art and including the top prize atthe white canvases. a studio space to work. stoneyard, so there was a lot of work, you feel that making a piece Wolverhampton College of Art, 11thTriennale India in2005, “I feel that black is a very strong, But she also frets that she might material to practise on. of art is not easy. This is not my where she earnedher BA(Hon) in the Outstanding CitySculpture very powerful colour. You can see be taking space away from younger When it is suggested that she fell choice, but when I have to do it, I FineArt. She workedas a Award in China in 2006and the the energy in it. I paint with black artists: “I also feel paiseh (embar- into sculpting by accident, she says put all my energy into it,” she says. waitress, hotel maid and cookto LeonardoAward for Sculpture at and white so I can focus on the rassed) to occupy a space.” with a smile: “Exactly.” support herself duringher Italy’s ChiancianoArt Biennalein energy and movement without the As the founder of Sculpture Soci- After a lifetime’spractice, she con- [email protected] studies. She alsoearnedmoney 2015. .

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