Gateway

You shared with us that nature often brings you solace. Do you have some favourite spots of nature around Singapore?
I wouldn’t say I have one favourite spot, but I realised recently that my favourite spots are wherever I spot Bodhi trees and their saplings! I first started to notice them due to an account called @sg_bodhitree. So now, all my favourite spots are where I spot these plants, and they change on a daily basis.

What’s an art form you wished was more widely practiced or preserved?
The first thing that came to mind is the art of paying attention (laughs). Everything flows from there, right? No matter what art form it is, it’s all about how much care and attention we pour into it. I know this is cliche, but it’s also very true.

As someone who interacts with and contributes to the Singapore art landscape, what’s something you’d change about it if you could?
The perception that art is something that has to be “serious”, and that it has to be practised as a Life Practice or not at all. Even though I understand the need and desire to hustle if your practice is inextricable from your livelihood, I truly think it’d be nice for people to simply enjoy the beauty and good things. I also wish to do away with gatekeepers, which includes internalised barriers (like our sense of “propriety” or “quality”) or external ones (real concerns like grant applications and monies).

If you could time travel (either into the past or to the future), what’s a time period you’d choose?
I wouldn’t want to time travel—I’m quite delighted to be in this current time, no matter how convoluted and messed up it is.

If you could be instantly good at a skill or a talent, what would it be?
I want to know how to read/listen/speak/write all the languages in the world, but I do think the fact that I cannot access everything makes the world more interesting.