Our “Mess” – Teachers Get into the Arts

Remember those days when teachers used to tell you off for making a mess in school?

Well, seven talented teachers from NorthLight School have made a “mess” of their own and will be more than pleased to show it to you at the Substation. “Our Mess” is an art exhibition running from 12 to 24 December, showcasing their artwork, ranging from photography, print art to clay sculptures.

“This is ‘Our Mess’, our collection of interests and interjections,” says Ms Felicia Low, art coordinator at NorthLight School and the creator of “Our Mess”. An avid artist, she first hit upon the idea of holding an art exhibition six months ago, when she discovered that some of her colleagues shared similar passions and aptitudes for art.

“I asked them if they were interested in doing a show, and they were all keen on the idea,” recalls Ms Low, who has been involved with The Substation for the past ten years. The idea behind “Our Mess” was to have a creative outlet for all of them to meet and speak as individuals, yet be able to work together on a common ground. Indeed, some of the exhibitors are not even involved in teaching art in school, but pursuing it as their own interest in their personal time.

Mr Ho Chan Seng is one of these teachers. A mechanical engineering instructor at NorthLight School, Mr Ho explores his creative side through photography. “One sees different perspectives of images through the viewfinder in the form of shapes, lighting and so forth. From these, we are able to realise the beauty of the world around us, says the award-winning photographer.

An outlet for expression

His colleague and co-exhibitor Mr Foo Kwee Horng, on the other hand, is an art teacher, so he has the good fortune of pursuing his artistic interests at work. With a Masters in Visual Arts, Mr Foo believes art can be used as a tool at work to communicate with the youths he teaches because “it is a language neither written nor spoken, but at times are more powerful than the two.”

Based on his observations as an educator, Mr Foo has chosen to express how students handle pressure and parental expectations in today’s world through a series entitled “Sad Children”. His choice of paper cuttings for the exhibition is simple yet powerfully apt. Most of the students at NorthLight School have had difficulty handling the mainstream academic-oriented curriculum, and “Sad Children” is a reflection of the reality and pressures they face.

“In our eagerness to instil academic excellence and character development, we often neglect to ask if the child is happy,” Mr Foo points out. “We may think that we are giving them the best, but sometimes we forget to question how we’re going about doing it.”

Although NorthLight School is now closed for the holidays, there are plans to show pictures and videos of the exhibition to the students when the school term resumes next year. So far, the school has been very supportive of their talented teacher artists, even paying for the two-week-long gallery rent at the Substation. And since Visual Arts is a subject that third- and fourth-year students at NorthLight School can choose to take, Ms Low hopes that some students will be encouraged to pursue what they believe in after seeing images of the exhibition.

Want to find out more about “Our Mess”? Visit the exhibition at the Substation, 12-24 December, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily.