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Overview
2020
Watercolour on paper
Unique Work
Dimensions: 54.6cm (H) x 36.8cm (W) x 0.3cm (D) / 21.5" (H) x 14.5" (W) x 0.12" (D)
Note: Actual colours may vary due to photography & computer settings.
Artist Statement
In contrast to the flamboyance of Elgin, the Coleman Bridge is dour but it’s
association with Singapore’s history is more intimate. George Coleman was, after
all, Singapore’s first architect and his works remain monuments to the city-
state’s evolution. At one end of the bridge is the distinctive and colorful Old Hill
Street Police Station, now housing the Ministry of Youth and Culture-a
destination for those who seek grants and other art-related funds. I wanted the
painting to represent a point in a journey of a woman, possibly an artist. She may
choose to cross the bridge-or not. She may go to the MCCY Building, or not. Life is
about choices. Bridges offer choices, pathways, entries and exits. When the
bridge was built, New Bridge Road was named after it and to this day it links
New Bridge Road and Hill Street-two distinctive worlds-together.
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Artist Profile
Born: 1972
Hometown: Singapore
Based in: Singapore
I am a watercolour artist. My work reflects my complex heritage and background- as an immigrant, a constant traveller and an inheritor of a highly diverse cultural and ethnic legacy. My formal and professional training has taken me, as well, through metal smithing, fashion illustration and weaving.The fluidity and freedom of watercolour allow me to cross borders effortlessly and give free rein to my instincts.
My subject matter is mostly our urban life, including parks, gardens, suburban towns and travel. I like to capture sites and moments within the cityscape and then provoke the viewer. Who are these people, what are they doing, what is happening on this street and around that corner? No one is ever settled in a city and beyond and before a specific second, something is about to occur or has occurred. There are, too, hidden secrets within dense cities-exotic flowers, architectural surprises, highly creative activities.
I began with Impressionism and its’ basics inform my work. But schools are only boundaries in our minds. I have deliberately chosen a more Abstract flavour, leavened with inputs from fashion, New Wave cinema and the DC comics of our childhood. This is not a pastoral life, the one we lead-it is full of movement, tension, interrogation. We need a different way to view the world and that holds true for artists. My work speaks to and for contemporary urban life and I will continue to experiment in this space. My work has been published in The Rappahannock Review, Anatolious Magazine, 3Elements Literary Review and Paranthesis Journal(forthcoming).
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