GHOST NOTES
Farizwan Fajari
Solo Exhibition
19 Mar - 1 Apr 2025, 11am - 7pm
GHOSTNOTES features artwork by the artist Farizwan Fajari, also known by his artist moniker, Speak Cryptic.
This exhibition also marks the 20th year of his art practice and features artworks from 2005 up till February 2025. More than anything, this exhibition is dedicated to his family, friends and to everyone who has believed in the work.
"In music, a "ghost note" refers to a rhythmic sound without discernible pitch. These unintentional, ephemeral notes - often born from the rebound of a drumstick on a snare - which to me can sometimes be louder than the entire chorus itself. Ghost notes inhabit the spaces between beats, much like the fleeting moments and hidden spaces that bare themselves to me.
My work is inspired by these moments, these happenings; the glance between friends, that lil' pause between strangers, the little cracks in the pavement, the silence between the dialogue on tv.Through the act of painting, drawing and sculpture, my intention is to give these moments some form, some presence...something I could see and even maybe hold...captured on a canvas, paper, found materials.
It's making the invisible not only visible but invincible."
About the Artist(s)
Farizwan Fajari, professionally known as Speak Cryptic, is an artist and musician currently working and living in Singapore.
Inspired by the visual language prevalent within various alternative subcultures such as punk and skateboarding, his works primarily deal with issues pertaining to the human condition. Utilising personal iconographies and a cast of characters that he has developed since 2005, he applies them to various narratives inspired by his observations on current affairs and his immediate environment.
Exhibitions include the Kuala Lumpur Biennale (2017), Koganecho Art Bazaar (Yokohama, Japan, 2018), Secret Archipelago (Paris, France, 2015) and Future Proof (Singapore, 2012). Speak Cryptic was also one of the artists commissioned for the Singapore Art Biennale in 2013, with his work "Fenomena", installed at the National Library.
As a musician, he has performed and composed with several bands in Singapore since 1993, such as the Sugarflies, Dyfectra, Fishtank, Marchtwelve, Concave Scream and I Am David Sparkle. More recently, he has been active in creating musical and soundscape compositions, releasing them under the moniker Primary Motif, as an aural accompaniment to his visual works.