Drawing Connectio with Fyerool Darma

In Darma's coded lexicon, his extensive visual vocabulary of archival material; the Internet and literary references; a fusion of archival treasures; online landscapes and literary inspirations reveals modern introspection.

- Cheryl Ong

In our ever-changing digital world, discussions about history and preservation have faded into the distance. Singaporean artist Fyerool Darma, however, emerges as a beacon of relentless curiosity. A painter by training, he combines sound, video, new media, sculpture, texts and craft practises to create images that juxtapose modernism with Southeast Asian cultures, histories and politics. His works which at times resemble cyphers - compel us to decode their complexities. Profound philosophical queries concerning time, history, language. and perception are not just idle speculations in Darma's visually fragmented artworks. Instead, they lead to a greater understanding of our ever-shifting reality.

The poetic subtlety that envelops Darma's creations is like a puzzle. Within every coded language, each chosen material, and every fragmented visual lies a vital piece contributing to the unveiling of the final artwork-like decoding the hieroglyphics. Attuned to the multifaceted meanings of art and history, his works connect disparate ideas like a Venn diagram, where divergent thoughts intersect.

Even at the height of our intelligence, there are inherent limits to our knowledge. Yet, a connection exists between our identity and the world around us. The liminality between words, and the space between the artist and their works might signify deeper aspects of our consciousness, historical context and the essence of art.

Nothing is ever set in stone - everything is always changing and evolving - and we can learn to adapt to the remixes of our histories and present, as Darma makes clear in his works.