Woman puts up gold foil flags over apartment building to showcase her art

If you saw gold foil flags fluttering on every floor of an HBD, would you think it’s art?

For the person who put up these flags, Priyageetha Dia, a 26-year-old Singaporean, she said that this was her way of calling attention to something ordinary in Singapore life.

She had put up the flags in Block 108, Jalan Rajah, which quickly gained notice from the residents, passers-by and the Jalan Bear Town Council. They eventually took her installations down on March 21, three days after she had put them up on March 18.

When asked about what she felt about the removal, Dia said that she was “neutral” about it since she expected it to happen anyway.

She also said that she wanted to put p the gold flags in such a place to catch people’s attention. Putting it in a private condominium or other space would not make the art relevant, as she wanted to draw attention to everyday space.

Not the first time she has done this

This isn’t the first time that Did used gold foil to highlight an ordinary space. She had actually made the news last year and generated a debate about art in public spaces by putting gold foil on a series of steps in the same building.

She had taken down the flags on her own that time, though.

Why did the town council remove the flags?

According to a representative from the council, residents had requested the flags removed because it reminded them of paper used during funerals. For some residents, the gold foil looked like joss paper, and was considered a draw for bad luck.

Not vandalism

In her previous attempt to create art, the freelance artist said she used gold because her family came from goldsmiths, and that she wanted to move her art to public spaces.

The same town council who removed the paper said that they were willing to work with her for future installations.

But is it really art?

While people are still debating whether a simple act of covering a stair or hanging cut out foil could be called “art,” let’s take a look at other innocuous things that were apparently artist’s doing–meaning that these were called by the makers as “art.”

Gavin Turk uses painted bronze to recreate the look of a trash bag. His other pieces include a simple watercolour of an apple core. While he may use bronze to recreate the look of a simple trash bag filled with unknown debris, an artist has gone as far as to use an actual trash bag filled with trash as an art installation.

In 2003, an artist named Cael Foyer received tens of USD 47,000 for an art piece that was literally a garbage bag.

In the past, a room with the lights turning on and off received an award, with the piece entitled, “Work No. 227: The lights going on and off.” Martin Creed won the Turner prize for his art, with the installation being acquired by The Tate.

But these pieces were exhibited in prominent galleries and even fetched high prices.

What do you think of Dia’s art? Let us know in the comments!

Meanwhile, in the Philippines, the R18 kind of “art” is being broadcasted on digital billboards.