Raffles at Parangkusuma - Labuhan

Jimmy Ong was born in Singapore in 1964 and currently works from his studios in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and the USA. A profound and prolific artist, well-known for working with charcoal, Jimmy has exhibited extensively in Singapore, and internationally in New York, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka, amongst other cities. His works are also housed in the permanent collections of the National University of Singapore Museum and the National Gallery Singapore. While large-scale figurative works are characteristic of his oeuvre, the graduate of Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, USA has also produced many still-lifes as part of his artistic practice. In his work, his subjects are often placed in a Freudian surrealistic context which examines the nature of human relation and gender roles. This is prevalent even in his seemingly innocuous depictions of tropical plants and fruits as Jimmy turns the apolitical on its head via his subtly provocative approach. From the loaded titles to the evocative compositions of the works on display, he has seamlessly placed plants and fruits in the realm of men, their indulgent tendencies and their vicissitudes of preference, elevating the idea of still life to greater concerns apart from mere depiction.