Motley

As someone who’s familiar with the art landscape in Singapore, what would you say is the best part about it?

The best part is its people. Artists and creatives in Singapore tend to be people with a lot of heart and courage, and it’s a privilege that I get to follow their journey as an art writer. It’s really not easy to be an artist in Singapore (or anywhere in the world, really) and it’s such an act of love to continue to pursue it despite the challenges.

Share with us a personal project you’ve embarked on:

I create collages that I share at times on Instagram. The pieces that I’ve been making lately are for a more general audience, but these collages actually began as part of a project where I corresponded with children and seniors for several months. It’s called Journal of a Pandemic, and it was organised by Grey Projects, a local art space.

This series of postcard-sized collages marks the end of my correspondence with them, so I wanted to bid them farewell by wishing them a small blessing for these interesting times that we live in. I’ve found a lot of joy in making these works…To me, they’re a moment of lightness in these rather dark times.

If you could ask an artiste to create a soundtrack for your life, who would you choose?

Of Monsters and Men.

What’s the best decision you’ve taken in the past year?

This was a decision that I undertook in 2019, but I guess it counts if we write off the pandemic year: I left the teaching service in late 2019, after six years as a secondary school teacher. I’m really glad to have said goodbye to the closet, and the implicit pressure of having to be a role model to young people when I wasn’t even being my authentic self.

What’s something you’re no longer into now that your past self was very much into?

Wearing dresses. It seems that the older I get, the less feminine I feel.