Looking ahead, 1987, Ng Eng Teng

"Growth", 1985, Han Sai Por

And even though i did not score 10/10 for this, i will still post my answer up because i truly enjoyed doing this, maybe you can choose too and decide which one you would put up? For now, let me try to convince you that "Growth", 1985, by Han Sai Por is more practical than "Looking Ahead", 1987, by Ng Eng Teng.

In my opinion, I would choose "Growth" by Han Sai Por to be exhibited in Nanyang Girls' High School as part of our permanent art collection. I also think that the work should be exhibited in front of the General Office that is where the behind the scenes work is done to help maintain and sustain the school, which is similar to being the heart of the school as it ensures that the school does not fall.

I feel that "Growth" is more appropriate than "Looking Ahead" as during education, students are still growing, and are still very pure, being groomed into someone. The forms are very organic and seem to grow into something else and hence, I feel that this is symbolic to the development in students' minds and personality.

Han Sai Por has also taught in Nanyang in the past and has three works found within the compounds of the school, which includes "Spirit of Nature" and "Family of Three". Both artworks depict organic forms budding and a sense of movement which seems to head for the sky, as if achieving new heights. Hence i feel tha t"Growth" would go well with these two other works, especially since they are located near each other along the driveway to the General Office. It is like leading from one work to another to tell a story and the motto of the school. As "Growth" is white, pure, simplified and delicate forms, it embodies some of the values of Nanyang such as simplicity and respectability.

Han Sai Por also received formal art education which is what Nanyang provides. As she is a female artist, she would be able to inspire many art students that that Art is not a hopeless route, it is not a dead end. Her main idea is that man is part of nature, not a part from nature. Therefore, in our increasingly fast paced modern world, I feel that it is important to feel connected to nature and remain true to oneself. "Growth" can remind the students not to be too focused in studies and sometimes think about nature and with global warming as an uprising threat, think of ways to salvage it and save the earth.

It is also important to be as a society, not an individual, to think on a larger scale that we are part of the world, instead of thinking merely for ourselves. This is another key idea in Han Sai Por's work whereby we cannot let modernization affect the purity within and I feel that this is expressed very well in "Growth". Nanyang being a highly competitive school, it is important for students to help each other out and think about others instead of their individual self. Instead of thinking about themselves, doing things for their benefits but causing harm to others, "Growth" will hopefully remind the students to look at the larger picture and realize how their actions affect the world around them. This is like staying back to study, and make the school custodian wait for you before they can go home. Even if you don't mind eating dinner late, the school custodians would have to eat dinner later also, and sometimes they would not be able to eat their meals with their family (some of them mind a lot) so we have to be more considerate and less selfish.

I actually hope that "Growth" would be placed in our school for real, but i know it's like 99.9% chance it would not so nevermind :(