Eugene Tan puts ecology ahead of politics with his studies of Pedra Branca, with a form of psycho-geographic render that goes beyond ‘mere mapping’
Commended, Student
Eugene Tan
National University of Singapore
Tan takes the medieval mappa mundi as the inspiration for his two studies of the disputed outcrop of Pedra Branca, 24 nautical miles off Singapore’s coast, expressing the place not just in its physicality but in relation to the monsoon season, its bridled tern population and tidal fluctuations that see it almost disappear. These are expressed on a circular drawing ‘where the island takes centre stage, and no particular way of orientating the site takes priority over the other’. In this way, Tan aims to depoliticise it, making its ecology and unique aspects central to the conversation about the island.
Chou was struck by both the map drawing and its key, the latter serving as the explanation of the former. ‘It’s quite cool,’ said Chou, ‘It’s a modern form of map-making, which is part of a great tradition.’ Wigglesworth agreed, seeing both as a form of psycho-geographic render ‘taking it beyond the realm of mere mapping’.
Eye Line award winning drawings from this and previous years