A showcase of fashion and art extraordinaire at EXTREME BEAUTY exhibition!

The term ‘Beauty’ is an incredibly talked-about topic, yet it is also an exceptionally subjective one.

From the beauteous frocks on the runway to the extreme shocking outfits that our dear Lady Gaga pull off on the red carpet that stun and invoke all your senses, and to even the show-stopping looks by our dearly departed McQueen, and to those perfect human features we have so lusted and yearned for, even the idea of ‘beauty’ is so controversial, what more, ‘Extreme Beauty’?

Last Friday, it was truly our honor to be present at the opening night of the ‘Extreme Beauty’, a fine-arts-meet-fashion exhibition by Singapore Contemporary Young Artists (SCYA) at Vue Privée Gallery whereby incredibly talented & creative Singapore-based artists namely, Clifford Loh, Debra Raymond, Fadli Rahman, Nataliette Tan, Raudha Raily, Skye Tan, Sophia Natasha Wei and Yahn Adam, as well as contributors Frederick Lee Couture, Joe Rahim, Randolph Tan and Nabil Aliffi, have come together to each, demonstrate and personify on what Extreme Beauty means to them, with the different mediums in their hands.

A mirage of lip shapes on pieces of serviettes that form this collage of lipstick markings by Sophia Natasha Wei

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The opening night, which was graced by invited guests, family and friends, started off with a truly spectacular performance piece by Sophia Natasha Wei, which demonstrates the “Ultimate Extreme Beauty Regime”.

With her whole body in a tank of styrofoam balls, Sophia contorts and moves her body against the tide, defining the notion of extreme beauty, even with the aid of many lipstick markings. It was a truly unforgettable experience to witness this over-the-edge performance, which came across as an abstract and even, surreal representation of a beauty regime, setting the tone for the exhibition.

And here is a run-through of the exhibit pieces:

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Fashion Photographer Skye Tan‘s ‘The Offering’, which consists of 5 black-and-white pictorials of two beautiful models clad and draped in multi-layered raw, unfinished animal meat skin against the magnifique bone skeletons, was a major standout from right across the gallery, channeling extreme beauty in an intensively carnal and even, primal way.

And we learnt from Joe Rahim, who contributed to the shoot along with Nabil Aliffi & Randolph Tan, that these skeleton bones were actually taken out from carcasses of camels!

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This neck-brace choker piece by homegrown Jewelry Designer Yahn Adam entitled ‘Snow, but not so White‘ is another favorite of ours, with it’s macabre representation of beauty.

As the name says, his piece takes on a divergent role in the tale of Snow White, but spins it to create his vision of extreme beauty: morbid, bold and primal, especially with the usage of real human hair as well as animal bones to make up this spectacular jewelry piece. The choker piece spans from one’s neckline all the way to one’s chin, making it one fierce jewelry piece to watch out for!

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The human body, in it’s most, full naked glory, is pierced with 18K gold plated nails to form an iconic luxury brand logo that provokes one’s thoughts, and is what defines the idealogy of Extreme Beauty in this collaborative work by fashion photographer & stylist Fadli Rahman & makeup mavern Raudha Raily.

And need we say, we love elements of surprise, and this one piece just nails it to the core! Really stunning!

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‘VANITY FAIR, VAGUE, BIZARRE’, sounds familiar? Well, they should because Illustrator Debra Raymond‘s illustration pieces entitled ‘Beauty Pressure’, is a parody of our favorite fashion reads namely, Vanity Fair, Vogue and Bazaar magazine!

Gone are the prim and proper stylish women who normally don the covers of these magazines, and instead, unclothed women take over the covers with a storm. With their brains, lungs and kidneys being exposed, and the conditions of their organs revealed, her work is an exaggerated interpretation of Extreme Beauty.

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Nataliette Tan‘s illustration work does nothing, but dazzle with it’s one of a kind ideation of extreme beauty in 2 girls who are joined together from hips down.

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Last but not least, fashion photographer Clifford Loh, who is also the curator of this exhibition, puts forth a photography work entitled, ‘Till death do us apart’. Featuring 3 dolls (models) in his photography, all of whom are donned in feather-like dresses and white angelic frocks from Frederick Lee Couture, their otherworldly beauty personifies Clifford’s interpretation of Extreme Beauty.

View the exhibition for yourself, and immerse yourself in the many varied forms of Extreme Beauty.

The EXTREME BEAUTY exhibition will run from 30 March till 13 April 2012, at Vue Privée Gallery, 63 Spottiswoode Park Road.