Repost Blog from Art Residency Exhibition at Studio Kura, Itoshima, Japan.
"...As a child, Kayleigh Goh knew there were emotions in paintings. The thought led her to major in painting. She wanted "to understand what does it mean that painting can convey emotions".
Reading Goh's work, it tells a simple tale. It's late afternoon, and the sky is clear. Gentle beams of sunlight trace the rims of a one-storeyed building, leaving trims of shadow. There's a person. He's flanked by looming concrete walls. An open door is in sight. The air is still. It's calming, but an eerie sense of suspense haunts the painting.
Goh paints with wood and cement. Wood speaks of the natural, while cement is the "familiarity of man-made protection".
"They work with each other to reach a balance," the 24-year-old Goh adds. The paintings are a retrospective of her pursuit for "appreciating beauty in aloneness". Viewers get a taste of the quietness in Goh's heart, likewise the spine-chilling trepidation of loneliness. "
Exploring spaces of solitude is also central in the works of Kayleigh Goh. Though executed in a completely different manner – these artworks (she is careful with using the term painting) are purposeful constructions of emptiness, a space to encapsulates a state of mind. In this process of developing an existent space from a state of non-existence, time and space overlaps; and thus, the intangible character of time endures in physical spaces.
Kayleigh’s rendition of Brutalist spaces however presents an implicit irony - that they are able to trigger a tranquil state of mind. This is achieved through striking the right balance in juxtaposing the toughness of cement and the warmth of wood. Through these works, she created spaces which become more than a void in which to roam about8, she attaches moments to spaces and charged them with accumulated energy encapsulated within this time and space. To her, the experience of being at a certain place comprises of multiple layers of build-up prior experiences. These layers of experiences are stripped of its details and instead depicted through the essence of how the place makes her feel.
As Kayleigh uses these bare spaces a setting for her own contemplation, she realizes the need in source of light as the main component of her compositions. This hint of openness is her way of affirming potentiality, as they convey a sense of outdoors beyond the walls.
A little opening on the wall at the center of the composition in To be Hidden Away for instance suggests the presence of another space beneath the surface of the while wall. They are not visible to the viewer, but the presence of this other space is justified by the association of an opening on the wall as a pathway to another space. This is her way of manipulating the nature of perspective to her advantage, to use people’s pre-existing visual associations to create an added space to the otherwise suffocating composition.
Further, through these meditative compositions, the artist invites the audience to reconsider their conceptions of accepted norms on what constitutes an artwork. As such, materials take center stage in her artistic practice. Asked about her audience’s reactions to her enigmatic bare spaces, she recalls vividly how most notices the distinct materials at first glance. This is perhaps due to the fact that the physical characters of cement are reminiscent to urban landscapes many people are familiar with.
In a world where noise in inevitable, Kayleigh finds solace in the quiet state of mind, and thus most of her works respond to this stillness. Ironically however, what pulled her towards exploring quite places in the first place was the fact that loneliness is a state she fears. Her exploration and portrayal of solitude has hence been a meditative journey of discovering the constructive side of solitude.
Kayleigh Goh, meanwhile, was inspired by cracks and peeling paint of the building for her installation on the 15th floor titled Lost In The Midst Of Time. The 24-year-old artist, who uses cement to paint, incorporated used floor tiles, found rocks and cement rubble, as well as bricks and wooden partitions found at Waterloo Centre and elsewhere to create an abstract installation that plays with lines and angles.
Like many of the participating artists, Goh was struck by the idea of this old residential area amidst the busy commercial district. “When I came here, I was attracted to these old architectural spaces, and the very quiet, soft atmosphere,” she said.
"...Who are some of the new artists you’re most excited about this year?
Kayleigh Goh. Her artwork conveys a sense of stillness and tranquility using a sheltered building structure in an otherwise empty space. She uses simple raw materials, like wood and cement, to construct the artwork to further enhance the idea..."