Archemist Blog
This is a space for my own architectural related musings. Sometimes it is about a movie, a book, a show, or even something that I’ve come across online. Happy reading!
2025: When your career becomes the walls of your vision
As I am a step closer to turning thirty, I’ve found myself surrounded by the common notion where the year goes by faster than the previous. Part of me wonder if being thrown into the chaos of a new project at the office has made the notion almost a spell for myself and others, another part of me wonder if it is because I have become so preoccupied with career progression that I’ve hardly paid much attention to time.
Eternity: Understanding the weight of the word - a film review
There is a lot to like in the film (for myself at least). The pacing, script writing and editing of the film has lovely changes between scenes. The biggest impact the film had on me was the noticeable colour change between earth and the junction. Eternity opens with Larry and Joan as a bickering elderly couple driving to their children’s gender reveal party. The first impression sets a mundane muted scene, and it is only when Larry dies that we notice a distinct colour shift of deep and moody warm tones(I’m willing to bet that the remainder of the film was shot on Kodak film).
Materialists – Tipping between the scales of the head and heart
Celine Song’s Materialists is inspired by Song’s brief experience as a matchmaker, a past life that she thoroughly enjoyed too much that she had to step away to concentrate on her professional pursuit in the film industry. Having consumed many interviews on the making of the film (Modern Love being one of my favourites), I eventually find myself sitting in an intimate cinema around three Fridays ago, anticipating how the story would unfold..
Hidden Meadow - A picturesque dreaming
Four years after its opening, I’ve found myself on a bus towards West Kowloon, which unfortunately is a site that is still surrounded by a sea of construction, scaffolding and hoarding. Despite this, the travel to the museum was a straightforward one – an open atmosphere paved with grey tiles. It’s only when I walked slowly towards the walls that I immediately understood the narrative and the cultural reference tided towards the building façade.
M+ Museum: A Review 4 Years After Its Coveted Opening
Four years after its opening, I’ve found myself on a bus towards West Kowloon, which unfortunately is a site that is still surrounded by a sea of construction, scaffolding and hoarding. Despite this, the travel to the museum was a straightforward one – an open atmosphere paved with grey tiles. It’s only when I walked slowly towards the walls that I immediately understood the narrative and the cultural reference tided towards the building façade.
NGV 2024-5: Kusama 草間 – a revision of her artistry
NGV’s latest exhibition celebrates the life and career of well-known and arguably one of the most Instagrammable artists within the contemporary art world - Yayoi Kusama. Showcasing over 100 pieces of work that captures the early origins of her artwork to what we know as the sea of infinite dots – this exhibition presents a welcoming surprise to those who only know Kusama in the later years, while for some, may feel as a level of repetition of her other exhibition back in Brisbane’s Art Gallery during 2018.
2024: The moment I stopped chasing for closure.
Every year, I always look forward to getting a year older. Not because I feel that it would provide me a step to ‘maturity’ (my insecurity), but rather, I look forward to the annual lessons that would summariser my trajectory for the year.
And this year was the same…
Looking Back: Job Hunting Was And Is Still Really Hard
Whenever I participate in networking events, I’m often asked how to get a job (in an architecture office).
Having spent almost two years finding work while trying to bury the envy I have of my peers – I know as well as anyone else, it came down to a combination of hard work, effort, the willingness to grow and a bit of luck.
But if you were to ask for a sincere answer, I would say, it was a matter of desperation.
Desperation.
Do I Have The Right To Teach | Before We Begin
Before I release this season
Hey there,
Before we begin the podcast – I should let you know that – there will be times where my conversations will be reflecting on things that occurred four, five or even ten years ago. And while I get that the curriculums, thoughts and principles do evolve over time – I hope what I’ve seen in the past and what will be later discussed demonstrates a sense of optimism in change. I look forward to seeing myself grow in these conversations and hope that it will continue to reignite my love for teaching - something that I sadly relinquished when I began my journey in professional practice.
The Lines On The Other Side
Recently, I found myself laughing sarcastically at a community member on the architecture forum puzzling on the lack of drawings in our media publication. As a frequent writer of architecture and design reviews, this has been something I’ve often asked architects whenever I’ve been delivered a press release package. Often, I’ll be given a couple of good sentences (at worst, a two-sentence project that had me go hunting at other publications to pull out details), and some lovely images of hero interior (and the occasional tired photo of a furniture piece that we know will later be questioned by the public on its practicality). While I absolutely adore the photographs being provided, I find that my writing does not excel as much as I’d like – especially when I’m looking at a set of press photos that only showcases one room when the promotional package explores several spaces.