genus Scylla

2022
Crab shells, silicone, polyester, wood, lacquer, laser print on card
Dimensions variable

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genus Scylla explores the relationship between Man and Beast. Man’s arrival introduced an unprecedented super-predator onto Earth’s ecosystem, resulting in anthro-oriented damage to different species of animals. Siew examines these changes and identifies elements of Astruc’s grotesque, understanding humankind’s encroachment into the beastial "other" as a fundamentally existential.

 

By hyperbolising morphological mutation and reverse carcinisation, Siew evokes the image of the chimera and parallels his experiential abjection towards re-experiencing crab meat as a life-long vegetarian with the grotesque harm mankind does to animals.

Exhibited for LOOK LOOK SEE SEE (2022) over at LASALLE College of the Arts Singapore; Beyond the Boundary (2022) over at Straits Gallery, Singapore; and Shoebox Sculpture Biennale 2023, Sightseeing Sculpture: The Sky, The Land and The Sea over at Sculpture 2052.