Shing Yin Khor

Clown Jellies spotted in “A Nervous Harbour”

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helmetedclownjelly_detailClown Jellies have been spotted at Shing Yin Khor’s  “A Nervous Harbour” . Shing has done what many oceanographers have only attempted, she has cataloged the infamous Clown Jelly for her show at Stranger Factory.

As she explains –

“Clown Jellies are invertebrates that are only visible in the water that is between 24 to 25 meters deep, no more, no less. If seen, Clown Jellies are easily distinguished by their vibrant colour. While colour wavelengths are absorbed by water, leaving much of the ocean a dullish blue tint to the human eye, Clown Jellies will always appear brightly coloured to divers, even if that is theoretically a scientific impossibility.”

Early reports say Shing has a couple different species of Clown Jelly specimens ready for the public, but right now only one has been spotted.

Above, we have one of the infamous Helmeted Clown Jellies. To keep the species true to form, Shing has created wood boxes with articles from the sea to simulate their home environment, but she also lets them stand alone in all their glory. Now, the Helmeted Clown Jellies are easily distinguishable from similar species by the helmet-like structure atop of their heads that sort of resembles a cap worn by the famous Steve Zissou crew members. We will have to find out from Shing’s research what this added structure means to the jellies, but we do know it adds a wonderous array of colors to this wonderful creature.
khor_s_helmetedclownjelly21You will find Shing’s Clown Jellies at “A Nervous Harbour” from September 6th – 29th, with an opening reception on Friday, September 6th from 6 – 9 PM. Shing will be present, and wishing Brad was there so she can crack new jokes.

Shing Yin Khor’s tiny paintings for “A Nervous Harbour”

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khor_s_scaleybugfig1Just like some of her bugs, Shing Yin Khor (Sawdust Bear) is going tiny for her exhibit “A Nervous Harbour” at Stranger Factory this September.

Shing transforms her amazing little creatures from a mounted study to a rendering Darwin himself would have cataloged if he had found these wayward beasts. With these 3″x3″ paintings, Shing has created the perfect accompaniment to her sculptures in size and cuteness. They will all come framed with an estimated price of $55-65, but we can tell you, these won’t last long because biologists love their animal studies.

What kind of painting do you need in your Sawdust Bear collection, a Clown Jelly or a Scaleybug?
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“A Nervous Harbour” runs September 6th – 29th, with an opening reception on Friday, September 6th from 6 – 9 PM. Shing will be present, most likely right next to the reception doughnuts.

Shing Yin Khor sets sail for “A Nervous Harbour”

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shingprogress4One of Circus Posterus’ newest artists Shing Yin Khor, aka Sawdust Bear is hard at work for her solo show “A Nervous Harbour” at Stranger Factory.

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Shing isn’t holding back at all with her show in the gallery’s Project Room because she is putting more dead things in more boxes than we have ever seen before. Of course, we all know these are not real dead things but they are real boxes she made herself. Her workbench is overflowing with pieces and parts all around, amazingly sculpted otherworld specimens waiting for their displays, driftwood longing for Albuquerque sun, and even a drill for headaches after long hours. Hurry up Shing, and quit slacking.

“A Nervous Harbour” runs September 6th – 29th, with an opening reception on Friday, September 6th from 6 – 9 PM.

 

 

 

Shing Talks a Lot.

One of the new additions to the Circus Posterus artist roster, Shing Yin Khor or Sawdust Bear, has a show opening this weekend at Leanna Lin’s Wonderland, and we(Kathie and Brandt) took the opportunity to throw some questions at her.

We’ve seen her hungry, we’ve seen her drunk, and now we all get to see her talk a lot!

(editor’s note: Shing also edits the Circus Posterus blog; all self deprecating comments are her own. er, this is Shing’s own note. Ugh, third person.)

CP: Please tell us about your educational background and creative journey. Did your parents talk you into getting a real job or were you smart enough at a young age to figure out how to best fund your creative alter ego?

Shing: Well, it’s… diverse. My degrees are in Technical Theatre and English, where I focused on scenic design and medieval literature. Then I went to grad school for scenic design, which I quit halfway through in a blaze of “artistic differences.” I learned how to sculpt, paint, draft, build, weld, mold, cast in theatre; I can fabricate all sorts of weird things, but the hard part was getting things together cohesively enough to have any sort of an artist’s statement. That part came organically, as I started to pursue a varied slate of interests and went through a quarter-life crisis state of trying to figure out who I was. Basically, I just didn’t have anything to say, until I did, and now I won’t shut up.

My parents – they’re very supportive. They just wanted me to be good at something, even though they have never hesitated to tell me when my work sucks. If I had been a lousy artist, I am certain they would have insisted I go into computer engineering. We compromised on the English major, which was an “at least you can teach high school” option. They are both artists too (Mom’s always been, she works with clay and bronze. Dad took up painting and woodworking in retirement). I very clearly get my love of experimenting from them. My mom randomly texts me things like “I built a gas kiln in the backyard today!” Fortunately, they’re a bit more competent and safer than I tend to be; I haven’t gotten a message like “your mom blew up the garden with her gas kiln” yet.

CP: Did the Center for Otherworld Science come to you in a dream or were you in a sweat lodge? For the unintoxicated collectors out there, can you explain this concept?

Shing: The Center for Otherworld Science has been evolving in different forms and into different names since I was…10? When it first started, it was a straight rip off of Brian Froud’s Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book and Wil Hugyen and Rien Poortvliet’s Gnomes (so much of my work still owes a debt to those books, I think). When I was 14, it expanded to being a research institution that investigated mermaids, fairies, gargoyles, other mythical creatures. There were a lot more fantasy tropes mixed in there when it first started out, because y’know…I was a huge nerd. Well, I still am.

I’ve always loved monsters, so it was logical to bring them under the Center for Otherworld Science umbrella when I started sculpting them. They were meant to be props, basically just the work product of the Center. I started filling out the narrative around it a few years ago, with the intention of working it into a novel, but the response to the artwork was more than I had anticipated. Now, I just try and write bits of it when I find time.

Basically, the Center for Otherworld Science is the “heart” of most of my work, and encapsulates most of my themes. I don’t think my work is quite so much about weird little critters, than it is how they got to the point where they are preserved and displayed for all to see. It’s about what humans do to them, especially at the Center – we preserve them, we stuff them, we record possibly inaccurate things about them. So, it might sound like a cute idea, the Center for Otherworld Science, but there’s a lot of well intentioned, but very fallible, human beings behind it all, and they do bad things to these fairly hapless critters. The unseen people of the Center for Otherworld Science are sinister because they’re kind of clueless about the whole new world they’ve stumbled upon – they’re the bumbling backbone of my world. God, humans are assholes!

To see the rest of the awesome interview, click more.
Read More »Shing Talks a Lot.

Welcome the Newest Members of Circus Posterus

We can’t hold it in any longer or we may burst! We are happy to present the extremely good looking and classy new Circus Posterus artists: Valency Genis, Shing Khor, Stan Manoukian, Carisa Swenson, and Scott Wetterschneider!

We are proud to have them as part of the Circus Posterus family! In the coming weeks, we will focus more on these fine creators, but for now, please look at their sites and bios right here http://www.circusposterus.com/artists

Now, please give them a round of applause and make them feel welcome!

Valency Genis

Shing Yin Khor

Stan Manoukian

Carisa Swenson

Scott Wetterschneider

Recap: SUBTERRANE @ Stranger Factory, 11.9

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Hot on the heels of the DesignerCon hustle, the CP crew packed up and hightailed it back to Albuquerque to prepare for SUBTERRANE at Stranger Factory — a group sculpture show featuring new works from emerging 3D artists Carisa Swenson, Yosiell Lorenzo, Shing Yin Khor, Valency Genis, Shea Brittain and Melita Curphy … the majority of whom also attended DCon! With almost all of the artists in attendance (we missed you, Melita!), the reception was a riot and a sugar-laden one at that, thanks to our friends at Rebel Donut.

SUBTERRANE is on display through Dec. 3rd and works can be viewed here. A full gallery of the evening’s tomfoolery awaits you after the break.

Read More »Recap: SUBTERRANE @ Stranger Factory, 11.9

Stranger Factory Presents: “Subterrane” Group Sculpture Exhibit, 11.9

Opening next month at Stranger Factory is Subterrane, a group sculpture exhibit showcasing the talents of six of the industry’s most promising emerging sculptors. Follow Shing Yin Khor (Sawdust Bear), Carisa Swenson (Goblinfruit Studios), Melita Curphy (MISSMONSTER), Valency Genis, Yosiell Lorenzo and Shea Brittain (FrankenFactory) as they take us for a trip down the rabbit hole to experience a world inhabited by creatures that lurk in caves and crevices which fall just beyond the sun’s reach.

The exhibit also presents an interesting dynamic in that we have the opportunity to learn a whole lot more about ourselves from these creatures. Through sculpture, the artists are able to express complex emotion without the distraction of the familiar human face. Denied the comfort of what we’ve always known, we’re stripped of our preconceived notions and offered the chance to confront the artists’ intent without influence. We’re then able to see more clearly how love, anger, joy, sadness and loss shape and define our own inner creatures.

Subterrane opens Nov. 9th with an opening reception from 6-9pm. A number of the exhibiting artists will be in attendance!

Hit the jump for more sneak peeks from the exhibit!

Read More »Stranger Factory Presents: “Subterrane” Group Sculpture Exhibit, 11.9