In Type 0 Civilization, Ruben Pang – inspired by his travels in Europe – seeks to recapture Peter Paul Rubens’ iconic religious painting, The Fall of the Damned. With no pre-determined goal in mind, Pang’s brushstrokes are led by intuition, reflex, and accident, and the work’s colours take on seemingly musical qualities of counterpoint and harmony. The work’s title makes reference to the Kardashev scale, perhaps suggesting that an unfettered thirst for power is a path to ruin. The Kardashev scale is a means to measure a civilization’s technological advancement based on the amount of energy it is able to use.

Ruben Pang (b. 1990, Singapore) is a visual artist who has gained significant recognition for his abstract paintings. His work is composed of elusive figures and an ethereal medley of colours. Pang has exhibited in Australia, Italy, Indonesia and Singapore, at the Singapore Art Museum and The Substation, amongst others. Most recently, he presented a solo exhibition ‘Halogen Lung’ at Primae Noctis Gallery in Lugano, Switzerland (2018). He lives and works in Singapore.

Images courtesy of the artist.