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5
Hello Sheena and welcome to NotRandomArt. The current issue is revolving around the problem of communication and identity. You state: “ I think of my paintings as a platform to exercise my imagination where it becomes a mode of inhabiting space. The primitive marks on the canvas provide clues to my interpersonal relationship with the world around me. It mimics how my body not only occupies space in an immediate physical reality but also how it projects and manifests an illusion of space around it. As an abstract artist, my interpretations stem from the intrinsic nature of how the painting is made. In its making, I recognise unique meanings that transform my perception of space and time. This is my way to introspect the phenomenological process of perception and painting”
Is there any particular way you would describe your identity as an artist but also as a human being in dynamically changing, unstable times? In particular, does your cultural substratum/identity form your aesthetics?
I believe all human beings are seeking a sense of “completeness” by the balancing of physical, intellectual, spiritual, and emotional domains in life. For myself, the act of painting contributes to these base desires and helps to nourish the soul. Having been brought up in a country wrapped in textures of thought and philosophy from ancient scriptures has influenced my artistic outlook. I believe this is where my journey as an artist began. Being an artist for me is about meaning, expression and connection to the universe. The question of human existence and purpose is an ever-present debate which has been addressed in various mediums since the beginning of humanity. I feel that my work lends insightfulness to this most-important discussion, by providing viewers with interpretations of both the harmonies and variations within the realms of human experience.
Would you like to tell us something about your artistic as well as life background? What inspired you to be in this artistic point in your life where you are now?
I completed my BFA from Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore, 2017. My journey as an artist prior to my education was influenced by my grandmother; she was a dedicated art teacher in the Gulf who taught me how to draw and paint. The importance she and the rest of my family placed on Vedic knowledge, from Hindu scriptures, helped to form both my artistic and spiritual philosophies. Because of the support from my family and cultural background, I have been able to meaningfully connect to the metaphysical inquiries through my art and develop a means of expression both deeply personal as well as inherently human.
Could you identify a specific artwork that has influenced your artistic practice or has impacted the way you think about your identity as a participant of the visual culture?
Jonathan Lasker’s One Armed Bandit, 2008 is a piece which I connect with very strongly. His gestural implications such as opaque use of colour and playful, minimalistic impression speak directly to the viewer. One is able to observe the artistic process of creating a painting through the slowing down of time. He plays with a composition in a way that gestural traces and figures inhabit space virtually and has helped to influence my own work, primarily in my technique. My use of symbology, mark-making, and material choice have led to the creation of visual sensations which carry strong connections to Lasker’s work and technique.
Many of your works carry an autobiographical message. Since you transform your experiences into your artwork, we are curious, what is the role of memory in your artistic productions? We are particularly interested if you try to achieve a faithful translation of your previous experiences or if you rather use memory as starting point to create.
Human subconscious absorbs tiny detail that our conscious minds tend to ignore. When intuitively painting, hidden symbology and marks reveal themselves in a more clear and evident way. Feelings are expressed through mediums while thoughts through symbols and these can combine to become a way to access our personal symbolic realms. In this sense, memory plays a role in my work. These personal symbols are simply our subconscious imitating everything experienced in our lives, a retelling of the story of our sense of reality. In middle school, a local charity-based exhibition, “Van Gogh”, I painted a jungle that stretched far beyond and you could see all sorts of animals doing their activities. This particular work provided me with the opportunity to explore the interpretation of objects occupying and interacting within virtual space. Later, those same interpretations and techniques strengthened my individualistic style of abstraction. I believe my medium and mark making choice allow the viewer to access a sense of personal realms of subconscious; a direct reflection of my experience of reality.