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| Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Interview > Claire Xuan Up Close And Personal With Artist Claire XuanWriter : Yang Ming Yang Ming chats with French-Vietnamese artist, Claire Xuan. Novotel Clark Quay Singapore  Claire Xuan, picture taken from her website, www.elements-dedition.comYang Ming : How did your exhibition go at the Alliance Francaise? Claire : It was a nice space. The layout allowed a lot of natural light, which I liked because I prefer that to artificial light. I managed to show 43 pieces of my work, medium-sized, from a selection of my travel journals and I think I'm happy with it. Yang Ming : What is your creative process behind your work? Claire : Well, it's a long story. One photo journal takes about a year to complete, and I compare the breakdown of the process to a woman's labour. Taking pictures occupies the first trimester. The second trimester involve the graphic design, publishing and various things which result in the personalisation of each journal. The third part is to create the lithographs, which may take me about three days for to complete an image. The entire process highlights the fact that I am my own publisher - I make everything for me to see. The photographic image may be what the public receive but there are lots of information within the frame. I do not modify the pictures, and therefore the realism of the piece. But if you look at the process from a researcher's perspective, I also include the time that I travel. This means flying across the globe, and taking risks at various times of the journey. Yang Ming : What was it like working on Singapore? Claire : The natural lighting was rather difficult to work with. It is often cloudy and grey or too bright. However I was amazed by the presence of a jungle in Singapore, especially in reference to the picture I took of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Although Singapore is rather urbanised, it has its own little jungle which exists and is real. This contrast is an appealing factor, especially in countries that have grown more sophisticated. All my pictures contain the five elements of wood, water, metal, fire and earth. In the picture of Sir Stamford Raffles, the image is balanced by the palm tree. So right away, you will not see the statue because you might see the palm tree. Yang Ming : I could not help noticing that you often take pictures with perhaps, a symbolic clue. In the image of Fort Canning, there is a conspicuous bench. Claire : I don't know if I notice that there are such symbols but my penchant for combining elements could create an interesting mix of interpretation for readers. In the image of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve there are trees, yet the proportion of water also suggests something underneath it. Yang Ming : I notice people in the background... Claire : Rarely. (Pointing at a particular image) This woman on the boat in the Vietnam water occupies only one-fifth of the image - the rest of the subject is water. I deal with human beings as an attachment to the elements. Yang Ming : Why five elements? Claire : It is my research into the Chinese philosophy of my Asian background. I see it a fundamental part of the Oriental lifestyle. From my first photo, natural elements continues to be my main source of inspiration.
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