SMALL THINGS
2021
SMALL THINGS is a family of hand-sculpted paper vessels in a soft kaleidoscope of shapes and shades.
This project began during the pandemic lockdown in Singapore on April 7th 2020. Originally knee-deep in the production of a new solo, Dawn and her small team shuttered the studio and began working from home.
Vessel #6 Chalk, SMALL THINGS, Spring 2021, Paper, Mixed Medium, 246 x 256 x 122 mm
Vessel #1 Pink, SMALL THINGS, Spring 2021, Paper, Mixed Medium, 360 x 260 x 56 mm
With a limited supply of paints, inks, paper, tissue, glue and gypsum, she embarked on an elegant exploration of simple handmade vessels in the back room of her apartment.
Vessel #8 CHALK, SMALL THINGS, Spring/Summer 2020, Paper, Mixed Medium, 360 x 360 x 60 mm
Vessel #11 Sage, SMALL THINGS, Spring 2021, Paper, Mixed Medium, 244 x 244 x 111 mm
Vessel #5 Chalk, SMALL THINGS, Spring/Summer 2020, Paper, Mixed Medium, 176 x 176 x 125 mm
As a young mother, Dawn could only work in slivers of time. A daily 5 AM start gave her the hours necessary for soaking paper and mixing pigments, whilst stretches of her daughter’s slumber afforded her the luxury of moulding and fine-tuning each piece with undivided attention.
Vessel #13 Sage, SMALL THINGS, Spring/Summer 2020, Paper, Mixed Medium, 340 x 257 x 70 mm
Blue, SMALL THINGS, Fall 2021, Paper, Mixed Medium, Dimensions variable
SMALL THINGS stands as modern day relics of our fragile times.
They cradle a desire to hold something soft yet concrete in one’s palms, and speak of our intrinsic capacity to make something beautiful out of whatever we have.
Vessel #17 and #18 Blue , SMALL THINGS, Fall 2021, Paper, Mixed Medium, Dimensions variable
Each vessel is a one of one, and bears hundreds of the artist’s fingerprints. The works reflect Dawn’s keen sense of materiality and colour; as well as her attention to the rawness and irregularity of handmade objects, which she describes as human and vulnerable.
