The lift opens at Level 6 at 1 Commonwealth and I immediately wonder if I had step into the wrong venue. At the entrance, two young hotties were urging us to posh with two large Bearbricks, and young good looking people were walking along the hallway. Wait a minute, isn’t this an art exhibition? How come I feel like I’m in a hip club?
Nestled in the heartlands is a cool office of an art and design collective, Flabslab. Boys and their Toys kicks off their official opening at 1 Commonwealth. A collaboration between Flabslab and fashion photographer, Joel Lim, Boys and their Toys is a tongue-in-cheek photography, blending together popart with fashion.
The door to the exhibition teases the audience with a two holes cut out resembling a peep show.
The exhibition literally grab you by the balls the moment you step into the gallery. Full nudity of beautiful female models posing with large plastic toys. Frolicking with giant Toy Story Woody. Riding high on toy horses. Erotic meal with an over weight Ronald McDonald and teasing the Beatles while bent over. You wonder if you have step into Hugh Hefner’s private art gallery. Definitely every hot blooded man’s fantasy come true.
The charming and charismatic photographer, Joel Lim
But the exhibition has a deeper meaning. The models are transgenders. Hence the title “Boys and their Toys”. Boys or no boys, I felt an inferiority complex just by looking at their perfect bodies and beautiful features.
Jeffrey Koh, founding partner of FLABSLAB, Singapore, says, “Through this exciting venture with Joel, we want to challenge the straight-laced notions of society and empower individuals to embrace their femininity. The launch of FLABSLAB marks a bold beginning for us, and we look forward to showcasing the works of more artists in the near future.”
Beauty is through the eyes of the beholder and we should definitely not judge a book by it’s cover.
About Joel Lim
Joel, who was awarded ELLE Photographer of the Year at the ELLE Awards 2010, has worked on the Audi Fashion Festival and Blueprint Campaign for Asian Fashion Exchange 2011. His portfolio also features work that includes top local celebrities and fashion stars like Fann Wong, Sheila Sim, Charmaine Harn and Rebecca Tan.
Boys and their Toys will be held at FLABSLAB Gallery from 6 to 13 January 2012. The sale of large format prints will be available at the exhibition. Admission is free of charge and by appointment only.
Dates: Jan 6 -Jan 13
Time: 12pm – 6pm, Other timing by appointment
Venue: FLABSLAB Gallery, One Commonwealth Lane, One Commonwealth
Building, #06-11
Admission is free of charge.
* Exhibition contains nudity, parental advise needed.
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very nice! love the concept. very cheeky, disturbing all at once.
I don’t see how this is effective in “empowering individuals to embrace their femininity”. Photographs of transgenders dolled up, sexualized and posed alongside toys is not what i think of when i think about empowerment. It gets worse with the title of the show. I’ll explain myself. It encourages the ideal of what a woman should look like, and maintains the notion of women as an object of men, for their viewing pleasure. Like suzz herself points out, she “felt an inferiority complex just by looking at their perfect bodies and beautiful features”. As for the women being transgender.. to meet the perfect ‘ideal’ look of a woman for men – to be the perfect boy’s toy – is that really empowerment? Is the objectification of these women what the transgender community needs at the moment? If the ‘boys’ in the title referred to these women, i think it is wrong to maintain that considering that it is very clear from the photographs that they identify as women. This exhibition is very unexamined, and is a piss in the face of the feminist and the transgender community.