Dear Thuriya

A solo exhibition by Jean Qingwen Loo, co-curated by Objectifs Singapore in conjunction with A Tapestry of Sacred Music. This is an Esplanade presents programme.

Dear Thuriya is a personal long-term documentary project on Ashin Thuriya, a novice monk who lives in Mandalay with his two brothers. It features photos shot in Mandalay’s Sulamuni Brick Monastery, which is home to a small group of young novice monks from the Palaung Hill tribe, one of Myanmar’s 135 minority groups. It also includes a set of atmospheric photos of a campfire during which the photographer lost herself delighting in simple marvels at the Chele La Pass in Bhutan.

” My fascination with Ashin Thuriya, a novice monk and his two brothers, Ashin Wimala and Ashin Tezawbatha, began during a chance encounter in 2009 in a quiet neighbourhood in Mandalay. As I was photographing, Thuriya caught my eye and I approached them with my guide, Soe Soe. We followed them back to their home at Sulamuni Brick Monastery and that’s how the story began. The boys come from a village in the tea-producing province of Thibaw in the Shan State of Myanmar. After their mother died of illness, their father, a tealeaf farmer, sent his sons to Mandalay to receive an education. And so began a dialogue sustained through photography, observation, Soe’s conscientious translation and powerful non-verbal gestures. I cannot explain why I feel so strongly about Thuriya and his brothers. Our differences? Fate? But I hope to stay photograph them through the years for as long as I can. “

Read more about Thuriya and his community here

More information on A Tapestry of Sacred Music here 

This is my second solo show. Although there is a long way for the project’s completion, I am grateful for the opportunities and support from Objectifs and Esplanade. Thank you very much! :) I hope in light of the recent developments in Myanmar, this could provide a new perspective or two to people visiting the country.

I’m honoured to be chosen as one of three featured photographers for Nikon Asia’s “Through Asian Eyes” showcase. This round’s theme – Passages – explores memories captured during the photographers’ journeys in different parts of the world. 

Here’s an excerpt of my interview with the lovely people from Objectifs:

Q: Tell us about your personal approach to photography?

“What’s the story?” –– It’s a question that I always ask myself. It could be personal or reflective of the world we live in today. I am drawn to create images that capture moments which are worth remembering. It is a long-term goal to visually archive memories of my life through my work because it is an accumulation of energy and time well spent. This is why I always try to go deeper than merely clicking the shutter through conversation and observation. 

Q: What inspires you in your photography?

 The joys of wandering and wondering, knowledge, film, music and my eccentric miniature bull terrier.

Travel is a great teacher of life and photographs make brilliant yearbooks and report cards. Photography has enabled me to make the best of my youth and discover worlds beyond my own. This possibility of inspiring others to do the same, to open minds and push them to venture beyond their environments motivates me to go the distance for my work. I hope for these photographs work magic for the greater good.

Check out “Through Asian Eyes” here.

Special thanks to Nikon Singapore for your support!

Four years ago, with an excited, enthusiastic mother by my side, I registered Logue as a company. It was a fuss-free $20 efficient process meant to symbolise my personal transition from student to working professional, but more importantly it was a mental opening ceremony of sorts to remind the dreamer in me that roads are built by doers, not lofty ideals and empty talk. Looking back at these years of self discovery, I am humbled by the good fortune, precious opportunities and endless support bestowed upon me by the people in my life. 

THANK YOU to my awesome, brilliant, charming parents for being larger than life. Mum who has, her entire life, shown by example how to care, organize, be conscientious and focussed at what you do. Dad, a braveheart and all-time big dreamer, who always finds a reason to laugh. For teaching us how to be survivors and make the best of whatever life presents you with. Shauna, for being the best sister I could ever ask for to go through thick and thin together. Pi, for her endless creative input, words both kind and harsh, wanderlust and love. My families at Objectifs, Little Red Ants and Lien Foundation for your friendship, camaraderie and endless passion for what you do. You drive me to greater heights and are the lush pastures where my dreams can take form and blossom. To my clients who’ve grown into friends over the years,  thank you for looking out for me. 

I would be nothing without the friends who give me stuff made of more than words that have tided me through darker days –– Cousins Jon and Alexander for being my part-time co-workers, Uncle CY for his unfaltering I.T assistance, Kang Li for NYC 2009 and everything else, Mike Tze for giving me my first assignment ever and Kay Chin for the opportunities. Linus & Karen, Val, Junling, Peimin, Feli, Yanzhao, Daniel, Ahao, Gerald, Jinyee, Xinyi, Abi & Bryan, Deanna, Ryan, Py, Dionna and Lilin, for always making it better. 

There is a beauty in discovering the world and my self in the process. I started out as an idealistic dreamer wanting to do something good, and along the way grew to embrace the myriad ways of applying my skills and passions into projects that I hope will do good and make things better. I love the invisible force that pulls me out of bed every morning to work and translate my thoughts into something tangible, the joys of getting the hand of the commercial bit and a satisfaction of working with all sorts of personalities on various projects.

The world as I know through discovering places and people is inspiring and magical. The wonders of media and my influences have enabled me to capture all that I’ve experienced and express it in my way. Whatever you do, I wish for Logue to inspire you to greater heights and discover the wonders of dreams and rewards of action. 

Two weeks ago, I had the good fortune of attending the BRAND’S Music Changes Lives with Wang Leehom 2011 concert and press conference. I’ve always been an admirer of Leehom’s dedication to his music so this was a very interesting experience to interview him in an intimate setting. Unlike your run-of-the-mill Mandopopstar, this Taiwanese singer-songwriter takes his creative production very seriously. Since 1995, he has been fusing a range of Chinese elements like ethnic minority classics, classical orchestra and Beijing opera with popular genres like hip-hop and R&B to much success.

As part of his dedication to nurturing new talent and giving back to the community, the BRAND’S ambassador graced the cosy music showcase in Singapore for the second year running. Together with four young musicians Andy Chong, Michelle Soh, Spruce Teo and Giam Yue Ling, who were voted tops among some 68 other contestants, Leehom performed three songs in front of an excited audience in the National University of Singapore’s University Cultural Centre. 

“The best way they learn is to have an endless supply of education,” said Leehom on his advice to young musicians. “You have to know what you want. If you don’t have a target, it will be very hard to focus. I always tell people to embrace rejection because that is something that every artist has to face, time after time. The most important thing is to pick yourself up and move on.”

Spruce Teo, Michelle Soh, Andy Chong & Giam Yue Ling

I was pleasantly surprised by the emotion displayed by the young musicians. While Andy Chong got things heated up on the electric guitar and Spruce Teo wowed a supportive audience with his saxaphone, it was the technique and intensity of the performances by pianist Michelle Soh (Schubert’s Impromtu Op 90 No 2) and violinist Giam Yue Ling (Beethoven Virus)  that blew me away. 

I find it very heartening that there are corporates like BRAND’S which believe in the potential of music to change lives and inspire people to craft their own story in a supportive community. I’ve told my photography students before that I believe the medium is the message. You find a medium that speaks to you (music/photography/illustration/design), learn to comprehend it with sheer determination, love it with passion and build a relationship with it over time. As one grows up, there will be moments when you realize the medium is no longer just the message, but delivers a message only the artist can shape. 

Ladies and gentlemen………………. LOGUE is ALIVE! V3 of the Logue site, that is. Looking forward to an exciting year ahead, charting journeys through the magic of media, telling stories which matter and rollin’ out projects to inspire people to live, do good and make it better. 

Since I embarked on this solo journey as a fresh-faced graduate in 2008, I have always craved for some kind of physical matter that could represent the experiences I have been through working on my own. This is my space in the virtual world (Can I say I LOVE IT!) Someday in the near future it will be a space with a tight team of wonderful crazy creatives and my office dog Iggy, who share a vision of using Logue to communicate ideas that could change lives for the better and create experiences to invigorate. There is a power behind the moving picture, the still image, the audio waves, the written word, design and animation. Like true love, destiny might bring some people my way. I’m looking and working, working and looking… if you’re somewhere out there and you feel what I’m feeling about your work, drop me an email to see if we can create some magic together. 

I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to my family and friends for their love, belief, encouragement and relentless support in whatever I do (especially when the cheques come in, right mom?), my peers in photography and media, especially my LRA buddies, my family at Objectifs for providing the support network that is the bedrock of my dreams, my clients (especially those who became friends) for their faith in what I do and people I’ve worked with in one way or another for all the lessons you’ve imparted over the last three years of my adventure.

And last but not least to Daddy for being the dreamer you are and teaching me how to be brave. I know not of my destination, but I know the journey is what matters. 

I spent the weekend (Nov 17 – 20) at the F1 Pit Building along with 13,000 others at the Affordable Art Fair 2011. Together with photographers Chris Yap, Deanna Ng, Chow Chee Yong, Bryan Van Der Beek and Sit Weng San, our works were represented by the lovely people at Objectifs who I adore with all my heart! It was very interesting to observe the dialogue between fine art and photography, especially when you’re trying to analyze in your head the monetary value pegged to a piece of work. 

It was certainly an eye-opener for me. Having taken part in the intimate Affordable Photo Fairs organized by Objectifs in 2008, 2009 and 2010 where I got the wonderful opportunity to hawk my ware and create a booth in whatever manner I wanted, it was a very good learning experience in curating the kind of work put on sale, managing your expectations as an artist and speaking about your work like a salesman. I suppose I find the joy in sharing the stories behind my images on a very personal level. Granted I will probably not meet most of the people I spoke to in that setting, but that moment of interaction was enough to validate the love I had for my work and reinforce my desire to work harder and improve more. 

Thank you to the Objectifs team for their hard work in promoting local photography, my lovely friends who came down and the supportive sweet souls who bought my work. I was thrilled to achieve an encouraging number of prints sold… and am definitely looking forward to creating more work to share at next year’s fair! For anyone else still keen in the prints as gifts to inspire others or yourself, feel free to drop me a note and I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.