Three Emerging Singaporean Artists On Making Work With Meaning And Intent

More than politics or economics or any of the other forces that make the world go round, it is art that functions as society’s mirror—reflecting back to us who and where we are as a people at any one time. While still in its nascent stage, the art scene in Singapore is slowly but steadily growing. Here, we profile three young artists who are bringing new voices and perspectives to the discourse. There is Israfil Ridhwan, who works in the age-old medium of oil painting but with an entirely contemporary take on masculinity; Samuel Xun, a fashion designer turned multidisciplinary visual artist whose work spans sculpture, installation and text; and Andre Wee, a digital illustrator who also creates 3D, VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) art. They tell us about what drives their creative impulses and what they want to say with their work.

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Samuel Xun

The 29-year-old trained as a pattern cutter but even when he was in fashion, the works he created were more like soft sculptures rather than wearable clothing. Over the years, Xun has pivoted into making art but has continued working with textiles. “I like that tactile quality and that sense of familiarity— the fact that these are things we put on our bodies every day.”

The shift in mediums came about because Xun isn’t the kind to do the same thing over and over again. “I like to keep things interesting by continually experimenting. I try to input something new into something that I know so that the end result becomes this mishmash of backgrounds and techniques. I feel like my sculptures are not necessarily what you imagine when you think of sculptures.” They are often pink and sparkly, consisting of abstract lines and curves that bring to mind the idea of tension and relief. They come with highly evocative titles like “I’d Love to See You Fall Again” and “You’re Repeating the Same Mistakes.”

Although they are abstract and open for interpretation, I do use titles to lead the viewer somewhere and to form some sort of empathetic connection. I like the idea of using wordplay to give an open-endedness to the work, and to allow the viewer to unload themselves onto the work.”

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Israfil Ridhwan

If there is one emotion that powers the work of the 24-year-old, it is melancholy. “I try to capture this state of mind, whether you’re reflecting on past lovers, or the future, or the feeling of wanting to leave—it’s always about this sense of longing.”

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Ridhwan’s work is also unabashedly queer. His rich and moody paintings almost always depict nearly naked men—though they are muscular and virile and what you would think of as conventionally masculine, Ridhwan paints them caught in moments of tenderness and sensuality. Perhaps it stems from a place of attraction, but one also senses a much deeper questioning of that attraction. “I think there is this Asian mindset of what masculinity is—you have to be big and strong and everything. I’m very skinny, and growing up, I was always made to feel like I was lacking something. So when I paint these very macho-looking men, it’s more about reflecting this idealised vision of masculinity. It’s to get people thinking, ‘What do I think masculinity is?’ I want my work to be like a one-on-one idea exchange when people look at it. Sometimes, people ask me, ‘Oh do you only do queer paintings?’ But that’s not true.

Andre Wee

The 32-year-old’s love affair with all things visual started in childhood, when he discovered the work of James Jean, a comic book illustrator. Today, his own work has grown beyond the scope of pencil and paper to encompass all manner of 21st-century technology—Wee has a bottomless appetite for the possibilities offered up by technological advancements.

Wee is currently fascinated with the liminal space between the traditional and the cutting edge. “The last couple of years, I’ve been very interested in ways of presenting 3D objects and art as almost 2D. I love creating art in that in-between area, where your viewer questions ‘What is this? Is this 2D? 3D? Is this traditional art? Is this digital art?’ In the way that a magician creates wonder, I hope to create that same kind of intrigue in my work—like, how does he do that?

In school, when you study literature or art, they would make you write what you think the author or artist was thinking or trying to portray. It always felt very black and white and I didn’t like that. With my work, I don’t want to force my narrative onto people—I want to create opportunities for people to see the grey areas, to have space for them to create their own stories.” 

Editor-in-Chief: Kenneth Goh
Photographed by Cher Him
Styled and written by Jeffrey Yan
Makeup and hair: Wee Ming using Chanel Beauty and Schwarzkopf Professional
Photographer’s assistant: May Chong
Stylist’s assistants: Larissa Wong, Caleb Lim