Joker&Joker

“整个逻辑思维是很不一样的”

Loosely translated as “the logical thinking behind differs greatly (depending on what the plan is”, was my greatest takeaway from the conversation with Zhou Mo at Joker&Joker on our last night in Shanghai. We were talking about my new chapter in pursuing fine arts, and attributing/finding value to my art. While Baochun, like many of my well-meaning friends, saw things from a commercial pov such as how many art pieces would I need to be handcrafting in order to make a decent living, Zhou Mo, a sophisticated young lady who made her mark in Shanghai, was quick to remind that the entire ecosystem for a commercial product vs art is vastly different, and therefore the approach towards either would naturally be pointedly different.

I remembered Yen, in one of our many candid convos, asked if my art is for the art collectors or the masses. I am also reminded how I suddenly chanced upon an IG post on the 20/80 rule: 20% of the clients/products/tasks bringing on 80% of results/sales etc; identifying and focusing on that 20% to yield great differential returns. And all these seemingly coincidental encounters, I realised, are road markers that shepherd me towards a more specific mindset I need to have about my practise as an artist. A concept that I never had to consider in the past when art was nothing more than a hobby to express a bit of myself, and “just for fun”.

And perhaps it also takes a second degree friend who barely knew me and my work such as Zhou Mo to dish out advice that I most needed, simply because she was not shrouded with presumptions of “knowing me”. She went on about staying true to the course I set for myself ahead, regardless of what others might say, and to keep honing that USP, which might take time, but when it matures it shall flourish splendidly. In fast paced Singapore, even the art scene is pegged to a tempo such that local artists across genres sometimes succumb to being highly productive or being highly sensitive to springboards for success. But success presents itself in a wide spectrum for every individual, and indeed knowing what success means for myself outweighs every loving and well-meaning expectation of my life.

We talked past midnight in the dimly-lit bar, the iconic wutong trees outside swaying wildly in the autumnal wind, just like how my heart was stirred passionately by Zhou Mo’s words.