About M1 Patch! 2020 Artwork
Every year, our Patch! Mascot, a tiny human figure riding atop a whale, takes a trip through a different puddle-portal and into a brand new world.
Each world is brought to life by different artists, who we invite to interpret these different dimensions of play. Journey into this year’s world below:
About the Artwork
There are two versions of the M1 Patch! 2020 key art. Created before the pandemic, the original artwork was later revised to reflect our new reality and festival direction.
“My creation process has always been natural and intuitive — whenever I have an impulse, my brain connects to my hand and I start doodling. I began with the idea of “Celebrating The Mundane”, inspired by how people would often retreat back to the ordinaries of life when the real world became too complicated. I wanted to create something simple and clean, so I used different line drawing techniques to create the artwork.
My designs are usually grounded in concept rather than story. From the beginning, I was drawn to the idea of force and energy, which in turn also reflects the vibrant and dynamic spirit of Play. From the whale’s body language to the water spout, there is a palpable upward momentum in the artwork which conveys a sense of movement and energy. At the same time, I also wanted to explore a balance between realism and the abstract. A whale swimming in the ocean is realistic, but a second look reveals that the waves are actually different layers of abstract textures and patterns.
To revise the artwork, I worked closely with Xiang Her, who oversees visual communications at Practice. It was hard for me to make changes because I have always felt that my original impulse is how the viewers should see the final work. We found a balance between retaining most of the initial inspiration while grounding the artwork within the new context of the pandemic. Because of this, the new version also became more rooted in storytelling. For example, the artwork’s background was changed to black and all other colours inverted. This created a more obvious metaphor of stepping out of darkness, as represented by the now-white hole. While I wasn’t exactly disappointed with the changes, it does feel like two different pieces.”
About the Artist
Lee Bee Bee is a Singaporean lighting designer, production manager and technical director. Bee Bee has been in the theatre industry for over two decades. She first started out as an architectural lighting designer before a stint as an Assistant Professor of Lighting Design at Missouri State University.
Bee Bee joined The Theatre Practice (Practice) in 2007, where she took on various design and production roles. She is currently the Technical Director of The Theatre Practice (Practice), where she oversees the technical aspects of all Practice productions and runs Practice Space.
A multi-disciplinary artmaker, Bee Bee also explores other art forms including dance, film photography and illustration in her free time.