The only artwork that caught my attention and really got me thinking is Someone Forgotten by Wong Woan Lee (1999) -Painted with oil on canvas.
Growing old is inevitable, and also death. In this revolutionise world, everything can be achieve except immortality. Humans tend to grow old, it involves a lot of pain, lost and reminiscence as memories tend to flash across they eyes of those involve. The main character in the work is the old Chinese man who is shown several times in the painting. The background of the painting is the interior of small cubicle-like spaces representing the different situations. Tonal light was used to show the moods of death and depression which enhance the story behind the artwork. The figure of the old man, shown several times in various positions, implies the use of multiple time frames simultaneously within the art work. The old man is shown sleeping, talking to his grand children, watching television, staring at a wall and lying sick on a mattress.
He can be seen in a pose where he is trying to reach out to his grandchildren in the first frame. His grandchildren looks at him with a pair of avoidance eyes, as if he is someone of distance to them or a monster that they are afraid of. In the second frame, He is shown squatting and holding his head with both his hands, in a pose that can only suggest despair and a personal loneliness that is private and his alone. He is actually staring at his past where he knew one day he would look back at all these memories. He knew upon his dead body, his souls would wonder and travel to the past with regrets and sadness all around. His children standing outside the windows of the room looking at the poor ill old man. This just shows how his children had neglected him all this time. Even when he is about to face death, they stood outside helplessly and shock, not intending to visit him at all. In the third frame, he is in the position where he looks like he is feeling outcast by the other family members.
The discomforting theme reflected in this work is a new realistic approach that address the human condition. It reflects the human nature of ditching the old and embracing the new. Today, it is very common to find old people lying on the streets abandoned by the young ones. It is of the new era where the selfishness of the younger generation prevails, forgetting about their roots and the ones that loved them and gave them their souls.
After looking at the picture, I just realized how much our every kind words and actions mean to the older ones especially my grandparents. I'm one who believes what comes around goes around. We should all really reflect on how we used treat them and perhaps turn over a new leaf. Care for the old, they gave us souls. Love the elderly, make them live happily. Besides, they might not be able to live with us any longer? Tomorrow is a mystery, let's all make sure today won't be a regretted history.
This is me leaving a mark in the National Art Gallery :)
Lots of love, A dose of Joey
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