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| Monday, July 31, 2006
Photography > ELEMENTS 7 Travel Journals by Claire Xuan A Piece Of LithographWriter : Yang Ming ELEMENTS 7 Travel Journals was a photography exhibition inspired by Claire Xuan's interest in the five elements of nature. SG Private Banking Gallery, Alliance Francaise de Singapour, 7-25 March 2006  A Travel Journal by Claire Xuan (taken from Xuan's website) ELEMENTS 7 Travel Journals showcased French-Vietnamese artist Claire Xuan's journey over several locations including Vietnam, Madagascar, Morocco, Senegal and Singapore over the last six years. The forty-three photographs were inspired by the five elements of nature that are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. In Xuan's works, she took particular care to leave human beings out as much as possible, so that nature continues to be the subject, unhindered by the inevitable invasion of mankind. Yet the bane of exhibiting travel photographs is their appeal to the human audience. I found the Singapore collection rather bland compared to other countries that were not, perhaps, overly familiar to me. Although Xuan captured well the lily pods of Botanic Gardens in black and white, her choice of subjects ranging from Sir Stamford Raffles' statue to Fort Canning Park seemed a tad touristy for locals to enter. I preferred 20 - 23 Sine Saloum. Crossing the River, a picture from the Senegal collection, that depicted the sun's last rays onto the sea and another one from the Vietnam collection which showed fading red Chinese characters on a peeling blue pillar in Vietnam. Ultimately, the highlight of Elements 7 Travel Journals is not within the travels but the treatment of their presentation - Xuan presented the images as lithographs rather than photographs. To be more precise, she uses thin sheets of papyrus paper, printed with special features and written characters of different countries. In this respect, following the impact of Ingres, Gericault and Delacroix, Xuan managed to pull off a credible show that sets it apart from the other photography exhibitions. Visit Claire Xuan's website at http://www.elements-dedition.com
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