Information

About The Artist

My name is Godwin Koay Feng Ji, and depending on when and where they've come to know me, some of my friends may call me Godwin, some others Fengji, but more recently and irritatingly even just by my surname of Koay. This past May I turned twenty and am currently focused on, though not always energetically or patiently, and never really happily, the few remaining months of my draft to the Republic of Singapore Air Force as part of mandatory National Service. I've lived in this island state for all my life save for a short but good three years spent in Hong Kong - just before she was returned to China. It was there that I had began to discover the broadness and inherent discrepencies of the world as well as cultivate a love for art. Perhaps many will not even consider me an artist, and the reasons for thinking so do not escape me, for it's a simple fact that I haven't yet made any outstanding body of work or functioned as an artist in either a fine art or commercial sense. Despite having shown interest - and some may say, talent - in drawing from a young age, I've never been particularly determined in pursuing any single creative discipline, not least due to familial and social pressures exaggerated by the rigidity of local culture and education, and as such I am frequently torn when asked to consider how I'll be furthering my education; or what I'll eventually do for a living, maybe understandably so since neither did I actually develop a mature appreciation for art and what it held till I was well into my late teenage years studying in junior college.

Yet as I dissertate the labelling of myself as an artist, I have already, in effect, done so. But I hope there is no sense of pretense or condescension - partly why I chose not to write this from the perspective of a third person - as I settle on this most suitable of labels from the available selection for I do so only for the sake of convenience. And so what is it that I do as an artist? I am, of course, not by any stretch a full-time artist by conventional definition, and given my personal understanding the term rather suggests that I create art, some serious, others not so, and believe in the communicative power of art - and not just of that restricted to a visual nature. Most of what I create is done digitally with the typical complement of Photoshop and a Wacom as I have done for the past three years, and although I am good with the pencil and fairly competent with paint, there just isn't enough time these days to devote fully to any meaningful work or study of substantial or pleasing quality in the latter media. Sometimes I dip into the world of photography but my efforts can be at best described as amateur and mocking (to the techno-purists) as I take more interest to how images can turn out than the specifics of how they should be taken.

Those who know me in person will probably not have very much to say about me - just as how I haven't very much to say on most occasions. I've been a shy and anxious kid for most of my life, and probably still am in most social settings - even though to a lesser degree - but I shall be frank and honest to say that the Internet has helped a great part in leading me to open up to people more. Message boards and instant messenging, in spite of their rather impersonal nature, have helped me bridge a gap to connect and share with others in ways which I wouldn't otherwise have imagined possible. Interestingly enough this has even created a situation where I've come to find such communication lacking in itself. But I digress, for what I'm getting at is that if you ever meet me, you shouldn't be expecting any sort of eloquence or forthcomingness in speech from me, be it due to how I express myself online or however wonderful you may deem my thoughts or art to be. You may also come to understand my caution with the label of artist because I truly am not well read on the topic so you will certainly not find me talking about art.

About The Site

Godwin's Space has undergone multiple revisions since its inception in January of 2005. Originally meant to be "just a space" for hosting images of my art work and a blog to keep the domain active, it has evolved much in the past two years, following my growth as a person and the change in my art. The first big deliberate redesign of the site is meant to reflect these changes, as everything takes on a more sombre, mature tone. As such the repeating paint-like swirl and blot motif featured on the various pages - an organic, human touch; an element I found lacking in many web graphics of the day - which was altogether made digitally, represents a sort of dynamism which will hopefully be seen in my art too.

This site is graciously hosted by the Revora Creative Community under its Ralert arm, and more specifically friend and all-round genius Justin "Mastermind" Moe. Donate to them to keep things running!

Contact

I can be reached via e-mail, whichever you prefer. My hotmail address is used for Windows Live Messenger, and I'm on Facebook with the gmail one.

godwinkoay[at]gmail[dot]com
godwin_koay[at]hotmail[dot]com