No.457: This work is my construction and deconstruction of three dimensional space on a two-dimensional plane. It is also my vision for the future of human society: the natural world and urban space may blend and subvert each other.

An Idea

No.360:This is a concise work. I try to magnify and visualize the scene of male gaze and present it to the viewer. In western classicism oil paintings, women’s positions are often depicted as "objects to be stared at." Such works place the viewer in a male position and look at the surrounding things; but in the 21st century now ? There is no doubt that such a situation still exists in the circulating images.

No.344:In the spatial collection of power relations, the system projects individual identities and forms group unconscious behavior. Daily appearances demarcate the boundaries of emotions: collective unconsciousness and personal will become contradictory. What this work is trying to show is a nightmare, in the dream, I am a sheep in the flock, we are stared at by many pairs of eyes.

Nightmare

No.305:Youth is chaotic. Hormones and melancholy, violence and purity constitute adolescence. I am in such a period; for the younger generation, the future is full of infinite possibilities, but history is deeply embedded In all the things that young people experience. So where are we going?

Blossoms

In this work, the picture is mainly composed of the abstract landscape of large-scale industrial production and the hustle and bustle of the fashion industry. On both sides of the picture, the models in gorgeous costumes clothes the animals on the grassland show a corresponding relationship; if our living world is being destroyed step by step. What does all this produce by consumption mean?

The Beautiful, Dark and Twisted Fantasy

In this work, I put an afterimage as the main body, and the scene in the background is a magnification of anxiety; at present, the boundary between virtual and reality is getting blurred, and the influence of excessive information on the mental state is a problem everyone has to face.

A Manifestation of Anxiety

I simply intended to explore what my iPad can do in terms of colours and filters in this piece. Nonetheless, I never expected to arrive at what appears to be a cave encircled with glowing red rocks. I then created two men who are trying to climb out of those rocks.

After hours of experimenting with colours and filters, I finally arrived at something intriguing - ‘Lens,’ that’s positioned at the centre of the picture, portraying a brighter version of the cave, which suggests the idea of approaching a problem from a more positive angle.

I decided to exaggerate the whole idea with the repetition of lenses with a wider variety of colour schemes. The culmination of that endeavour is what I call, ‘Lenses’ (on right). The intention behind this was to portray that positivity is ubiquitous; all you need to do is view it from the right lens.

Lens and Lenses (Pair)

Horses are among my favourite animals, and I simply felt the urge to draw them for this piece. Moreover, up to this point, I had never drawn a horse before. So, I had to give it a shot. Upon completing all four horses and some further touches of filtering and colouring, I ended up with four purple horses facing east - towards the sunrise.

I presented this work to the public, and almost everybody assumed that they were the four horsemen of doomsday. Trust me; they are not.

Not The Four Horsemen of Doomsday

One has goals in life that he/she aspires to accomplish, and each goal has a long and challenging journey behind it. I intended to illustrate this idea in my work.

A figure approaches his destination which is indicated by the light above him. He appears to be having his last look at the journey through the darkness behind him. However, he bears a sombre demeanour.

As he proceeds to take the final step of the journey – which he so longed to finish – he recalls, not just the pain each challenge had brought him, but the strange pleasure he experienced while trying to solve them. He now remains uncertain of what awaits him; doubtful of his next journey after entering his bright destination.

It, therefore, holds true that one must work not just to reach the destination, but to endure the journey of each second that takes place while he/she works.

The Journey

Art can be interpreted in a myriad of ways. That that the viewer somehow “completes” the work through open-ended engagement or subjective association. The single meaning conferred by me while drawing this artwork can be deciphered like a riddle, one layer after the other, based on your perspective. After all, nothing should stand in the way of the transcendent possibilities of art, for it to rise above its context and touch the viewer directly.

So what do you make of this artwork? Is its meaning straight away evident to you, or does it keep you guessing?

The Collector

I intended to capture the dynamism and change in energy flow and the exerted force when one performs the downward dog yoga pose.

The Downward Dog

A friend who is a life-coach had once introduced me to the hypothetical concept of C-PTSD (Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), caused by repeated psychological abuse or codependency by narcissists. This disorder is thought to be common across every generation of humans.

With this piece, I intended to capture what goes on inside a victim of narcissistic abuse. The hollow heads and faces portray the confusion and loss of identity or personality. The dark memories that resonate behind her are captured with the transition of light. The many translucent figures represent her eternal entrapment under the influence of her abuser.

Don't Look Back

The painting 'Eve Cat' stuck with me to such an extent that I decided to do a second version, depicting what may lie behind the cat, using a wider variety of frames. ‘The Many Sides of the Eve Cat’ acts as an illustration of its convoluting personality traits and emotions that unfold every second it watches you.

The Many Sides Of The Eve Cat

This picture came about from nowhere on the eve of 2021 - hence it’s called the ‘Eve Cat.’

With this artwork, I simply intended to test my ability to illustrate simplicity and detail. There was no better way to do so than to draw a cat - an adorably simple creature with an equally complex personality.

Nevertheless, as I was creating its luscious fur, I serendipitously stumbled upon something very intriguing - a bare head with a fringe, and a furry body that’s unlike any feline I’ve seen in reality. The red frame added later made it even more thought-provoking.

The Eve Cat

Life comes and goes in a cycle - we start it clean and innocent, get messy on the way and find ourselves covered in filth as we edge towards the end. I decided to illustrate this idea in the form of three figures, taking inspiration from the Atlas sculpture.

The first figure, clean and clear as glass symbolises our naivety to this world - zero exposure to any knowledge, experience or emotions. It also appears to be light as a feather, drifting from the sky and gently perching on one foot.

The second figure, positioned with aggression as shown by his contracted muscles and form, portrays the peak condition we behold in our youth and middle ages. We learn from a society that impacts our lives and the lives around us, thus changing the way we view the world. As shown in the picture, it represents the Golden Era of our lives.

The third figure, the falling one, portrays our departure from society, or rather our escape. When our perspective and roles become obsolete, or even annoying. When the time comes to pave the way for a whole new world with new people and new ideas.

Falling

This piece illustrates the infinite hypothetical realities, better known as dimensions, that exist within our universe. I’ve depicted this in two manners:

The tri-coloured triangles divide a creature into three different shades based on their circumstances to suggest the existence of multiple regions within a place.

The repetition of that very creature in different shades and forms suggests a simultaneous existence of different creatures.

Convergence

A drawing inspired by a color theory class I took in college. Getting out of the page, not abiding by rules of surface and ground, taking the drawing into digital form to explore ideas regarding borders and boundaries.

Candy

Another example of our collaboration. On top of Nemo’s floral designs, I added layers of geometrical shapes and lines that cut the initial design into a series of layers, which then can be repeated in order to create a full pattern.

In collaboration with Nirmohee Belvalkar.

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Flowers

An amazing collaboration that was born from the unfortunate circumstances that Covid-19 forced upon us. As international students at a US college, we were evacuated, lost our privileges of studio access, and had to study visual arts through a laptop screen. With one of my amazing friends that I met in college, we have combined our own processes of drawing into creating a work that can exist anywhere in the world. Her work is very delicate and intricate drawings of floral patterns, which I manipulated with my process of numeric sections to create a collaborative visual.

In collaboration with Nirmohee Belvalkar

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Green

I enjoy creating works that makes the viewer lose their understanding of dimension when looked. This work in particular called for two colors that contrast with each other while transitioning the viewer’s eyes into each other seamlessly. The more you look at this work, the more shapes start coming forward. I am exploring that state of dimension that is between 2-D and 3-D.

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Blue

I wanted to capture a moment where the surface and the background of the image merge into each other, through a series of shapes and forms. There is no composition in my works, as they are created to be repeated to infinity. I created this work to occupy space, exist in a digital world, and translate my pattern-making into a game. These works become more about the process of creating them rather than the end result itself.

This artwork has multiple variants. Use the arrows to view similar patterns that the artist has recreated from the original piece.

Another work that was translated between analog and digital. I wanted to keep the painterly quality of the markers in texture, but have the precise nature of digital perfection. I used colors that worked with the pattern that was formed. As in all my works, I did not know what the pattern would look like until it was complete. The digital manipulation allows the work to be multiplied and resized into desired form, which completely alters the pattern itself.

Untitled by Melih Meric

Analog drawing processed through digital.

This is a work that I translated many times between analog and digital. I made my initial drawing on paper through a process of numerical system. This system allowed me to divide the surface into sections and layers with which I work to complete into a pattern. Introduction of the color only happens in my works after the pattern is complete. It is often not necessary, and I only use color if the work itself is telling a narrative through color, in this case is red.

R.E.D

This is the second episode of my shoot, the first being Silence. As the first art piece (Silence) foreshadowed - the storm happened. Unfortunately, I fail to recollect what the incident was as it has slipped from my memory.

Wrath

Silence and Wrath are a pair. These two works are essentially inter-related, because they both are from the same shoot and done concurrently. This is an example of the fact that with each shot I do, there are 2-3 different episodes. One shoot, one image, but different processing and emotion.

This was the first episode, at a time where there was some kind of harmony in life, without anxiety and fuss, a strange calmness, an intuitive feeling that it was a calm before a storm.

Silence

This work came out very spontaneously. I had an order for a video clip for one dancer. When we finished, we still had a little time left until our slot in the rented studio expired. I decided to stay on and offered a photo. In the original, the frame is empty. However, at that time, due to my very tight schedule I tried to fill all my time with some projects. Hence the name and the visualization reminds me of sand, the sand being a symbolic representation of time, that which fills the void!

Sand

This piece is a reference to my earlier piece ‘Exile’ wherein I represent the break-up of a relationship through vivid and edgy imagery.

However, in this piece, I aim to convey the exact opposite- the mending of a broken relationship. I have used the same shades of green to allude to ‘Exile’ but have arranged the model in such a way that he appears to be merging into one entity, with his body parts echoing as they mend together, similar to the mending of a relationship.

Merger

In this piece, I had initially decided to shoot some impromptu shots with my friends on a lark. Nevertheless, upon further experimentation with glass and geometry, I never expected it to result in such edgy works that would express my inner persona- a young and mysterious Russian man ready to take on the world.

Inwardly

In my works, I like to photograph models and many of my models happen to be dancers.

This work is among my newer ones in terms of editing. I finished it approximately a year ago. The model in this picture is a street dancer who is around 45 years of age. While he may be old, his form is that of young man that moves beautifully while he dances. This greatly intrigued me and I decided to emphasise his body with the use of the bold violets and purples.

Interim

In this piece, I aim to convey the negative feelings one goes through during the break up of a relationship. The green colour used symbolizes the toxicity that one encounters when experiencing peripeteia while exiting a dysfunctional relationship. To express that feeling even further, I have used snake- like figures and a subtle red colour to allude to the story of Adam and Eve, where Eve entices Adam into eating a poisonous apple that eventually kills them both.

In a nutshell, I am portraying one in “exile” from one’s partner.

Exile

This artwork is one of the pieces which is non-photograph referenced, as I thought training my own imagination would be a useful skill in future as an artist. The gold earring in the composition was intended to create contrast with the black and white figure, hence the title "Black Gold".

Black Gold

Birds are one of my favourite subjects to draw since I was young, as a wide variety of species and colours, unique to their region, have attracted my interest to know more about them in books . This resulted as some of my main motives to start creating artworks, as I grew up, wishing to create realistic drawings I used to see in my encyclopedias.

Collared kingfisher is a native species around Southeast Asia, and is one of the first wild birds I have seen here in Singapore. This piece was created as one of the personal milestones to see how far I have improved on drawing birds, and whether I have managed to meet the art quality on encyclopedias I have aspired to since young. This piece is a reference from photography.

Collared Kingfisher

This piece was created for me to challenge my own skill, as the eye is one of the difficult subjects to make it into art. However, the eye is also one of the most complex and beautiful parts of the body, and digital art has made it possible for me to achieve the realistic details I could not have done for traditional arts. This piece is a reference from photography.

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