Singaporean artist Han Sai Por is best known for her body of work inspired by the significant impacts of human activities on nature and its ecological systems. While working as a full-time teacher from 1965 to 1968, Han’s passion for art spurred her to take on part-time studies at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. She subsequently went to further her education at Wolverhampton College of Art, United Kingdom, from 1979 to 1983. Presenting a penchant for analysing raw materials such as marble, wood and granite in her works, she decided to pursue her studies in Landscape Architecture at New Zealand’s Lincoln University from 2004 to 2008.
In this installation, Han features black stumps and bones on a bed of dark charcoal, a visual encapsulation of her sorrow derived from the loss of wildlife caused by human activities. With an art piece that evokes the qualities of a destroyed forest, Extinction Series #19 serves as a grisly reminder of the natural ecosystem’s fragility. It also reflects Han’s craftsmanship in manipulating sculptural compositions. At the heart of the artist’s work, her sculpture is not merely an arrangement of objects but an articulation of contemporary ecological issues. This installation was featured in Han’s solo exhibition at NAFA Galleries, Black Forest 2013.
