SHEN AND THEA'S WORLD: RENEWED

Two Friends Relearning Joy And Rediscovering

by Yanling

Gallery 1265 started this year with their first ever double feature, duo exhibition by Shen and Thea: Renewed Perspectives and Relative Realities. One of the brightest elements of the exhibition is the friendship between the two artists, how their personalities complement each other and, in turn, how their artworks exemplify this. Through Shen and Thea’s eyes, we are reintroduced to the beauty and joy of everyday life, clearing our aesthetic judgement around scenes and objects that had been blurred: a perfect way to begin the semester as we emerge from the pandemic.

Renewed Perspectives

In Renewed Perspectives, we are greeted with scenes of daily life. Through simple, and colourful moments of happiness such as cake, cats, and holding hands, Shen and Thea reintroduces us to the light-hearted elements that took on very different meanings from a pre- vs. postpandemic perspective. We see scenes from nature and from everyday life (and my personal favourite, the delicious-looking birthday cake, Sweet Indulgences by Thea) in brightly coloured paintings that gives us a peek into the life of the artists. Many visitors were captured by the simple joy that the paintings exude. It seems that through art, the cautious habits that had been rooted into our daily life by the pandemic stopped existing for a moment.

The central piece of this exhibition is Between the Lines, a diptych that combines the two artists spiritually and artistically, with their individuality shining through the distinguished brushstrokes. With the painting, Shen tells the story of the power that the eyes have in conveying comfort and trust with another person. Working in a hospital during the pandemic, Shen explains that she was able to bring reassurance to a worrying parent in an anxiety ridden environment with her eyes and the wrinkles that form a smile, conveying kindness and compassion. The word “lines” in the title of the artwork represents the “fine line between a blessing and a curse”, and through their artworks, Shen and Thea tell us that they have decided to focus on the blessings.

As a part of the Renewed Perspectives exhibition is the Seasons album, produced and managed by a group that Shen and Thea are a part of: third spring. The collection of songs in this album are not blindly optimistic, and the artists of third spring did not shy away from exploring stories of struggle and pain. From self-doubt, to frustration, to loneliness, the songs are sensitive and reassures the listener. Like the exhibition, the album ends on a hopeful and resilient note, with the lyrics: “we overcome, finding new reasons, we learn and we move on.”

With the uncontrollably fearful days of the past two years, things that used to represent