Latest news with #StillLife
GMA Network
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- GMA Network
Sandara Park watches G-Dragon's concert in Malaysia
DaraGon delighted fans with their recent meet-up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. According to Sandara Park's latest Instagram post, she watched G-Dragon's Übermensch concert during her trip in the city. DaraGon also posed for photos together, with Dara holding a G-Dragon lightstick. 'Truly a superstar,' Dara praised in her caption. Sandara and G-Dragon have maintained a close friendship through the years. Fans shared their excitement in the comments section. 'Mahal namin kayo!!!' a fan said. G-Dragon brought his Übermensch tour to the Philippine Arena last May. The singer signed with a new agency, Galaxy Corporation, in 2023 and released his fourth studio album, "Übermensch," in February, after a 12-year hiatus. Meanwhile, BigBang's last release was the single "Still Life" in 2022. As for 2NE1, they visited the Philippines in 2024 for their Welcome Back reunion tour. Sandara has also been sharing her photos from her Philippine travels on Instagram. —Nika Roque/JCB, GMA Integrated News
Straits Times
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
National Gallery's revamped Singapore gallery spotlights more women and minority artists
(From left) Singapore Stories: Pathways And Detours In Art's curatorial team consists of Joleen Loh, Chee Jin Ming, Lim Shujuan, Adele Tan, Seng Yu Jin, Kathleen Ditzig, Teo Hui Min and Qinyi Lim. SINGAPORE – For two weeks in 1992, 100 eggplants of various girths and ombres jutted out of three slate walls at Parkway Parade. Artist Suzann Victor, who co-founded art space 5th Passage in the mall, was hoping to tickle the fancy of idle office workers with her risque visual gag as the phallic fruit rotted in public. Three decades later, the ephemeral aubergines in Still Life have found a new lease of life as part of National Gallery Singapore's (NGS) revamped Singapore art history exhibition. The commission, featuring 222 new brinjals, is one of over 400 artworks and artefacts on show at Singapore Stories: Pathways And Detours In Art, which opens on July 18. Lead curator Adele Tan, who led this first major revamp of the Singapore gallery, admitted that the inaugural 2015 exhibition Siapa Nama Kamu?: Art In Singapore Since The 19th Century was sombre, if necessarily so, for a fledgling institution. 'There was tremendous urgency to tell the story as if we were instructing the art history to our audiences.' Her maxim for the revamp is, therefore, 'let there be lightness'. While the exhibition's flow remains largely chronological, expect moments of levity and detours into lesser-known figures and episodes in art history as the new show is more free-flowing and almost doubles its exhibition footprint to 35,400 sq ft, comprising the entire second level of the City Hall wing. But her lightness is also an invitation to ponder seriously. Artist Suzann Victor's Still Life (1992/2025) features 222 eggplants nailed to two walls in the walkway between galleries. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY In the inaugural exhibition, Victor was represented by a single installation Expense Of Spirit In A Waste Of Shame, mourning the body's absence in a 1994 work. It was made in the year Singapore banned performance art after an offending performance at 5th Passage led to the group's eviction. In Singapore Stories, she is represented instead by a more humorous work predating the traumatic wound in the Singapore contemporary art scene. The updated gallery has also responded to calls from visitors for more women and minority artists . About one in four artists in the new show are women. It is not exactly numerical parity, but there are significant clusters of artworks dedicated to the likes of pioneer performance artist Amanda Heng, ceramic artist Suriani Suratman and female ink artists working in a male-dominated genre. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore July BTO launch to have over 4,600 balance flats, 2 BTO projects with under than 3-year wait Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict Singapore Acute psychiatry services to be expanded across all healthcare clusters: MOH Singapore Alleged Toa Payoh cat killer and abuser handed new charge of torturing sixth cat Singapore 'Kpods broke our marriage, shattered our children': Woman on husband's vape addiction Singapore Asia-Pacific will need over 230k new pilots, 250k aircraft maintenance technicians by 2042: ICAO chief Business Tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter Kuok Hui Kwong appointed CEO of Shangri-La Asia The usual names that dominate Singapore art history still get huge attention – Nanyang artists like Chen Wen Hsi, for example, whose largest artwork Gibbons (1977) was recently conserved and is now on show . Performance art rock star Tang Da Wu's iconic jacket from Don't Give Money To The Arts (1995) has been replaced with a provocative visual pun, Just In Case (1991), a timely invitation for Singaporeans to consider Myanmar from a distance. Visitors engaging with contemporary artist Tang Da Wu's Just In Case (1991), which invites readers to peep into a hole in the box to look at a provocative visual pun. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY The curators' choice to forgo even-handedness and feature clusters of works by select figures allows for a fuller display of an artist's developing oeuvre. Dr Tan says: 'The companion to 'overlooking' is 'straitjacketing' – equally compromising is being stereotyped into one thing.' Nanyang artist Cheong Soo Pieng, for example, is still represented by his trademark paintings of lithe Balinese women – an outcome of the mythologised 1952 Bali trip. But his bolder abstract and mixed-media works such as Imagination (1970) offer a glimpse into his experiments with scrap industrial materials. Artist Vincent Hoisington's Civilisation (circa 1970s) uses industrial polyurethane paint and turpentine to create a gunky dystopian scene. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Beyond obvious artist groupings such as the Nanyang artists, the displays highlight other resonances in Singapore artists' practices. Cheong's works are placed near Vincent Hoisington's dystopian Civilisation (circa 1970s), which uses unconventional materials like industrial polyurethane paint and turpentine. Cheong is also placed near his students Khoo Sui Hoe and Ng Eng Teng, best known for his playful sculptural figures made using ciment fondu, an industrial concrete. The exhibition also marks NGS' cautious foray into the broader visual culture, with surprising names such as film legend P. Ramlee and children's book illustrator Kwan Shan Mei on show. The National Gallery Singapore ventures into visual culture, including works such as film excerpts by film icon P. Ramlee. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH Dr Seng Yu Jin, project director of Singapore Stories, says the gallery will eventually curate full-scale exhibitions on other aspects of visual culture such as cartoons and comics. As NGS celebrates its 10th year, he says: 'We have greater confidence to expand our methodology beyond art history into visual culture.' Dr Tan also says to expect the museum's programming to broaden to speakers and participants across art forms such as the literary and performing arts. 'The density of referencing that can happen is really exciting – and being able to jump from one medium to the next fluidly is also what drives creatives.' Singapore Stories comes equipped with a flexible project space, Dalam Singapore, which will be refreshed annually. Its inaugural show, helmed by curator Lim Shujuan, is Tchang Ju Chi: Tireless Camel. Tchang is a forgotten pre-war pioneer artist who died at 38 in the Sook Ching massacre of 1942. The China-born artist served as the president of the Society of Chinese Artists and was an early proponent of painting local subject matter. The exhibition features two new commissions in addition to Victor's. Ming Wong's Four Malay Stories Redux weaves P. Ramlee's movie clips with the artist's 2005 re-enactment of P. Ramlee's movies. Heng, who is Singapore's pick for the 2026 Venice Biennale , will engage in virtual conversations with visitors via hologram in Let's Chat Further (2025). The generated content will be used to develop an artificial-intelligence persona based on the artist for another work, Retired Singirl (2025 to 2030). Works by master potter Iskandar Jalil and his student Suriani Suratman are on display in a ceramics island table in the exhibition. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Since opening in 2015, the DBS Singapore Gallery has received more than 200,000 visitors annually on average – with 55 per cent being Singaporeans and permanent residents. Singapore Stories' curatorial team is rounded off by Teo Hui Min, Joleen Loh, Qinyi Lim, Chee Jin Ming and Kathleen Ditzig. The new exhibition will see more frequent rehangs after the first year. Dr Tan hopes visitors 'should feel like their eyes have opened up and their apertures have expanded'. Book It/ Singapore Stories: Pathways And Detours In Art Where: DBS Singapore Gallery, National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew's Road When: From July 18, 10am to 7pm daily Admission: Free for Singaporeans and permanent residents Info: Five highlights from Singapore Stories: Pathways And Detours In Art With 158 artists on show spanning the 19th century to today, The Straits Times picks five lesser-known art history episodes in Singapore Stories to look out for. 1. Malay artists who experimented with batik A cluster of works features Malay artists who experimented with batik, including Jaafar Latiff and Yusman Aman. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY A cluster of works by Jaafar Latiff begins with one of his earliest experiments on contemporary batik in the cubist and kaleidoscopic Fortune Teller (1967). Its centrepiece is Vision 1/86 (1986), representing Jaafar's turn to acrylic – which nevertheless still bears the rhythms and energy of the wax-resist dyeing technique. There are resonances with Abdul Ghani Hamid and S. Mohdir, key figures in the longest-running Malay art collective Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya, whose oil and acrylic works borrow from the visual language of batik. Brilliant colours stand out in this cluster of batik-related works that also include one by Sarkasi Said Tzee and Yusman Aman, represented by a quiet but charming work (Structure I, 1973) stacked with pink and purple rectilinear forms. 2. Pioneering women printmakers and teachers A printmaking wall features the works of pioneering printmakers such as Chen Cheng Mei and Chng Seok Tin. PHOTO: NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE Had artist Chen Cheng Mei not donated two newly imported printing presses to Lasalle College of the Arts in 1985, Chng Seok Tin might not have been able to head the school's printmaking department and nurture generations of printmakers. A printmaking wall in Singapore Stories centres on Chng, who lost most of her vision in 1988 due to an accident. Her Self Portrait (1989), made a year after, is a moving tangle of lines dancing around a dense mass of black. Chng, who received a Cultural Medallion in 2005, died in 2019. By her side on the wall is Chen's Durian (1986), reflecting her fascination with the natural world. Chen studied printmaking at the influential Atelier 17 in Paris, and the influence of printmaking on her paintings is evident in another section in the gallery which foregrounds her travels around the world and involvement in the field trips of the Ten Men Group. 3. Early life drawing and women who painted the female nude When nude life drawing was a taboo in conservative Singapore, Solamalay Namasivayam insisted on its practice. He is represented by the two works on the right. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY When nude life drawing was a taboo in conservative Singapore, Solamalay Namasivayam insisted on its practice – establishing Group 90, Singapore's first institutional life figure drawing collective committed to the study of the nude. His works – with his bold charcoal lines described as 'Michelangelesque' – are on show beside fellow Group 90 artist Chia Wai Hon, including a colourful and geometric reclining nude. On the other side of the wall is an interesting counterpoint – women artists Amanda Heng, Susie Wong and Ho Soon Yeen depicting the nude. Ho's crouching figure in Drawing From This Position With Untucked Tummy (1992) strips the female body of all its romantic notions, a work first shown at an exhibition with the artist Dominique Hui titled We Kissed in the now-defunct art space Substation. In a review of the exhibition published in The Straits Times, critic Ng Sek Chow wrote: 'On one level, We Kissed might seem crude and amateurish. But it is crucial for Singapore, a city aspiring to be a major art centre, to have an alternative space where unconventional views, visual and otherwise, can be aired and discussed.' Nudes by women artists such as Ho Soon Yeen (left) and Amanda Heng (right) feature too. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY 4. Gilles Massot's Yin Yang Festival and Art Commandos Artist Gilles Massot's Yin Yang One And Many (1987) is the only surviving work from the 1987 Yin Yang Festival. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY In the late 1980s, Singapore-based French artist Gilles Massot worked with students to stage some of the early interdisciplinary festivals and programmes which have largely been forgotten. On show is the only remaining artwork from the Yin Yang Festival, organised in 1987 at the National University of Singapore with student volunteers including a young Vincent Leow. It is a painting by Massot, with a figure on the left based on a drawing of his life partner. In 1988, Leow and over 30 students – including artist Ahmad Abu Bakar – from Lasalle, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts and the now-defunct Baharuddin Vocational Institute took part in a week-long art camp at Sentosa before going across the country to perform their art on the fringe of the Singapore Arts Festival in 1988. They were known as the Art Commandos. 5. Plastique Kinetic Worms Artist Chua Chye Teck's My Ah Kong's Big House (1999), which was shown at Plastique Kinetic Worms' space. PHOTO: NATIONAL GALLERY SINGAPORE After The Artists Village and 5th Passage lost their space at Lorong Gambas and Parkway Parade respectively, Plastique Kinetic Worms was one of the rare artist-run spaces to emerge in the late 1990s – starting from a 1,400 sq ft space at 68 Pagoda Street. In a section titled A Space Of Their Own, Singapore Stories deals with a perennial theme of precarious spaces in land-scarce Singapore. Co-founded by Vincent Leow and Yvonne Lee in 1998, Plastique Kinetic Worms staged events such as the Worms Festival. On display is a set of paper works by artists Leow, Lee, Juliana Yasin, Benjamin Puah, Zulharli Adnan and Zainudin Samsuri created for the second anniversary of the collective and to raise funds. Chua Chye Teck's My Ah Kong's Big House (1999) – dramatic but monotonous white blocks of public housing – perhaps best expresses the kind of space that begins to dominate Singapore at the end of the millennium.
Hindustan Times
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
BTS' RM gifts Jimin a hat, compares look to his 2014 American Hustle Life era: ‘Park Jimin, please grow older'
BTS is once again taking over the internet, proving their legendary bond is stronger than ever. Fresh off his military discharge, Jimin has made a stylish return to Instagram, leaving fans swooning — and he's not alone. The Filter singer gave ARMY a heartwarming surprise by sharing moments featuring BTS leader RM. BTS Jimin shared pictures from Los Angeles after military discharge. Jimin's LA stroll with RM's gift In a new Instagram post, Jimin posted a series of snapshots walking through Los Angeles, captioning it: 'A gift from Namjoon hyung'. The 'gift' in question — a sleek hat — came from RM himself, who responded with a playful comment which translated to, 'Park Jimin, please grow older'. The post, set to RM's track Still Life, gave fans major nostalgia as Jimin's visuals channelled his debut era. RM later deepened the nostalgia by sharing a throwback of a young Jimin from BTS's 2014 reality show American Hustle Life on his Instagram Story, a nod to how far they've come. A screengrab of RM's Instagram stories. Jimin cheers on J-Hope from afar Adding to the emotional rollercoaster, Jimin also posted a short video watching J-Hope's electrifying Lollapalooza set in Berlin via livestream. Shirtless and clearly hyped, Jimin playfully mimicked Hobi's energy, raising his arm and writing, 'I took mine off too, hyung!!!' — a moment that had fans grinning ear to ear. A screenshot of Jimin's Instagram stories. BTS 2026 comeback Recently, RM was spotted leaving South Korea solo for the US, teasing something in the works. A day later, SUGA, Jimin, and Jungkook were seen at Incheon International Airport, reportedly also headed stateside. While RM didn't reveal why the others were delayed, anticipation is growing as BTS is set to reunite and work on new music in the US for their long-awaited spring 2026 comeback. With Jin on his solo tour and the rest of the members slowly gathering in Los Angeles, the countdown has unofficially begun. BTS may be on hiatus, but their presence, online and in each other's lives, is as powerful as ever.
Pink Villa
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
BTS ranks No 1 in July brand reputation rankings followed by SEVENTEEN and BIGBANG, know Top 10 list
The boy group's brand reputation rankings for July 2025, based on the data from June 12 to July 12, have been released. The list was formed by analyzing the K-pop bands' consumer engagement, media presence, and community impact through big data gathered over a month. This month's list features popular names like BTS, SEVENTEEN, BIGBANG, EXO, and more, who have been ranked based on a comprehensive analysis. BTS secures highest brand reputation index among boy bands in July BTS clinched the top spot of the K-pop boy group brand reputation rankings in July, with a total of 10,128,032 brand value points. They were at No. 2 last month. The reason for their swift growth in popularity can be aligned with the growing excitement regarding their full-group comeback. All the seven members of the boy band completed their mandatory services last month and announced the release of a new album during the Spring of 2026. SEVENTEEN closely follows BTS in July's brand reputation ranking BTS' HYBE LABELS juniors SEVENTEEN took the No. 2 spot with a brand reputation index of 6,230,280. SEVENTEEN is one of the hottest group's currently, following their latest comeback with HAPPY BURSTDAY album. They celebrated their decade-long career in the K-pop industry with the album. Recently, they made another thrilling announcement of a new subunit formation with hip-hop unit members and Mingyu, adding to the buzz around the group. Following them, we have BIGBANG in the list at No. 3. The group, whose comeback is set to take place next year, continued to hold strong at the spot for the third consecutive month, with a total of 3,342,244 brand points. They still enjoy an endearing popularity even though the members have not released a group music since their 2022 track Still Life. Top 10 of July boy group brand reputation rankings BTS SEVENTEEN BIGBANG SHINee EXO ENHYPEN Super Junior NCT ATEEZ BOYNEXTDOOR The rest of the groups in the top 30 list include– Stray Kids, INFINITE, BTOB, RIIZE, WINNER, THE BOYZ, ASTRO, TWS, MONSTA X, VIXX, Wanna One, ZEROBASEONE, ONF, Highlight, TVXQ, GOT7, 2PM, TREASURE, TXT, and CRAVITY.
Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Horror images show vile souvenirs created by trophy hunters from holiday kills
Shocking images in a new exhibition to be shown to MPs to highlight import ban include bear paw slippers and bottle openers made from lions' paws by heartless trophy hunters Footstools made from elephant feet and slippers made from bear paws are just some of the macabre products made as a result of sickening trophy hunting holidays. Images of the gruesome and senseless souvenirs will be part of an exhibition shown to MPs later this month to highlight why a UK import ban on hunting trophies - a Labour Government manifesto commitment - is desperately needed. The exhibition, titled 'Still Life', showcases 35 powerful photographs by award-winning wildlife photographer Britta Jaschinski of hunting trophies - when hunters slaughter threatened and endangered animals simply for fun and bragging rights. The objects in the photos, which include stuffed lion heads, were seized by authorities in the UK and USA for not having the correct paperwork. But currently it is legal for British hunters to travel abroad to kill animals and bring back trophies just like these—a cruel injustice that the Mirror and Humane World for Animals is campaigning to end - with a licence. Senior wildlife campaigns manager Nicola White, said the 'compelling photographs illustrate the tragic waste of animals' lives in this cruel, outdated and damaging industry. She said: 'How much longer must animals continue to suffer and die at the hands of British trophy hunters, to be turned into mundane objects such as bottle openers, pencil holders and rugs? Wildlife trade data shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023 with dozens of trophies from animals including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah shipped to our shores. With strong public demand for an end to Britain's role in trophy hunting, the UK Government must deliver its manifesto commitment to ban imports of hunting trophies.' The Labour Government committed to banning imports of hunting trophies in its 2024 manifesto, but so far has not made any progress. A Private Members' Bill sponsored by David Reed MP, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, is due its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 13th June. The latest wildlife trade data from CITES shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023, hitting an alarming post-Brexit high. Trophies, such as skins and stuffed body parts, from 39 animals—including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah—were shipped to the UK in 2023. This year marks 10 years since Cecil the lion suffered for over 10 hours following his wounding by crossbow in 2015, before finally being put out of his misery. Yet the diabolical practice of trophy hunting continues, and trips to kill endangered animals are sold by hunting tour companies here in the UK. Last month the Mirror revealed how trips to slaughter majestic creatures including lions, zebras and leopards where being sold from the Stalking Show which took place in Staffordshire. Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: 'British trophy hunters have turned elephant feet into magazine racks, and their skins into rifle cases. "Trophy hunters also collect the trunks, ears and tails of elephants, the penises of bears and seals, bear paws and worse. Trophy hunting is an evil form of fetishism. They are like serial killers who keep the body parts of their victims as trinkets. 'It's a sick and dangerous sport that needs to be shut down. Our government keeps saying it will ban hunting trophies, but then refuses to say when. It even refuses to publish a timetable. It will soon be the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion. The government should impose an immediate moratorium on these sick souvenirs.' A Defra spokesperson said: "The Government was elected on a mandate to ban the import of hunting trophies - that is exactly what we will do.'
