BORDERS OF TIME
1000 WORDS ESSAY
Speed, time, and efficiency, these are the three main concerns in the society we live in today. Given the advancement in technology and rapid consumption, there are many changes in the way one consumes information and goods. There is a constant strive for perfection and speed with no room for mistakes. Such strive applies in all aspects, for instance, faster transport, greater innovations and better design ideas. Increasing speed is the ultimate condition for survival. In the midst of creating systems to support our demands for better living, better ideas, Nature gets forgotten. They get replaced by cold concrete structures. Many forget the importance of Nature in ensuring the growth of every economy. More often than not, Nature is taken for granted. Rather than appreciating Nature for its inherent rawness and beauty, artificial beauty is often more celebrated in our world today. Â Artificial beauty dominates and replaces the raw, authentic and unpolished conditions of Nature. Buildings are being brutally cast aside for new inventions, with disregard to any memories or emotional attachments towards them. People give life to buildings and vice versa. Architecture and Nature is always in constant intersections. Borders and spaces change with time, almost like a reflection of how we perceive time and spaces, like a mirror. The mirror reflects what we created, what we took away, what is left. Nature seeps into man-made structures and disappears, leaving only traces of its remains. Â Society changes with necessity. âNecessity is the mother of inventionâ. With the advancement of modern technology, it is only logical that change occurs. The way we communicate, consume and transmit information now is very different compared to how it was before. Communication is getting increasingly direct and straightforward and in various forms of media, imageries. The communication tool that an artist uses is very crucial in relating to an audience. What I find fascinating is that every material is associated with different meanings. This in turn changes the way we react and respond to the materials.
Sculptures are solid and grounded, the way one choses to display them is very telling about the information they want to convey. Carefully cut and brutally pierced into cold concrete structures. Concrete is created by the hardening property of cement. Concrete is the most essential ingredient in the formation of buildings. Taking into context the solid nature of concrete, we relate to the stability of the material. Sand belongs to nature; nature is unconforming and would not mold into the forms of society. Our sculptures are a mix of sand and concrete, a literal display of literal of what man has tried to do over the past century, to deal with and control nature. We cover the beauty of nature, masking it, shaping it to fit into the rigid constrains of society. We do not see the true form of nature. We see artificial beauty; plants and trees planted in straight lines along void decks, in parks and even in well- renowned places in Singapore are some instances. Nature is not systematical, they have no rules. Borders are temporal. Humans create clean borders of where Nature should be. Nature is 'everywhere'. For instance, we try to control where the birds should or shouldn't fly. Â Keeping them in cages, even shooting them down to prevent overpopulation. Likewise, trees are being burnt down, land flattened to create more land for people to live on. Graveyards are being dug out to create room for new buildings. Memories are being brutally cast aside. Where are the borders between nature and structure. Where is that ethical line we shouldn't cross? Would places and people hold significant memories for anyone anymore? Mirror is like a representation of time, nothing is ever permanent, not even life. It is human nature to want to classify and divide the boundaries of nature and structure. This in turn creates ethical concerns of what is rightful ours and what is not, what we can have and what we cannot. We cut nature down so brutally to create room for our selfish needs. I hope that more thoughts would go into understanding the consequences of bad decisions made to our environment. Sometimes the most beautiful architectures are left unadorned and abandoned. Nature listens to no one, borders are only temporal, just like the ocean, borders changes with time. There has to be a change in the society we live in today, we should be highly aware of the rate in which we are cutting down nature for our own desires.
We have to keep some of nature before they are all used up. There is a need for change as the planet is dying. The forest and ocean are so brutally exploited. We throw oil and chemicals in the sea like no one is watching; yet we take so much from nature. We cut into nature so cold-heartedly, building landfills of trash and covering them underground. We dig out diamonds and gems to sell for profit. We took everything from nature, without mercy. Just because nature is quiet, it doesn't mean that they are submissive to our doings, they retaliate with tornados and hurricanes in many parts of the world. Nature needs us. Nature should be treated with respect. We shouldn't let greed and consumption consume us.
Genetically modified crops (GMO) , they contain seeds that many farmers use to grow their crops. Companies that use such methods to grow crops are not concerned of their workers' health nor are they mindful about the chemicals they release into the air. The chemical dyes used for our clothes are being released into the ocean, not only the harming the environment but also the people who consume the water. They will be disabled and poisoned to a slow death.Â











