In this group show you can expect the unexpected, mainly because an exhibition where teachers and their students show works together is quite a rare occasion, and the artworks shows different stages of an artist creative process, including what is called ‘ failed pieces’; processes that is somewhat successful but not fully realised, some unfinished compilations because we ran out of energy and time. It is an important show because the human-quality is front and center here, and there are a lot of redeeming qualities to unfinished, unrealised, and half done works of arts that you might find surprising. This sentence is where we meet every time we find ourselves in anguish, dissatisfaction and dissapointment of failed works ‘ What if there’s no right or wrong?’

Introducing my three students:

Joyce and I first met randomly at a Botanical Art Society event, and we’ve been in contact since. She’s an art teacher by day, and an art explorer by night. Although she’s experimented with various mediums, this is her first time in a group show of this kind. I chose Joyce for her grounded, unique approach to art-making; she draws from childhood memories, exploring familiar themes through materials like found objects, a dead root, and memories of her mother’s sewing. Joyce approaches materials with the curiosity of a child, applying them in ways that reflect both her training and her independent spirit.

Sherlee Choliluddin – Sherlee started as an urban sketcher, and her sketches often remind me of an engineer’s—precise, data-driven, and meticulous. Until recently, her practice focused on accuracy and measurement. Yet in just six months, she’s embraced a looser style, developing an insatiable curiosity for techniques and materials. Sherlee admits to being a ‘hoarder’ of techniques, which has made her evolution for this show especially intriguing.

Isabella Chen – Isabella is an old friend with a background in animation. She recently joined as one of my students, needing a gentle push to reconnect with her creativity. After a nudge, she quickly started working on a series of oil on canvas and oil pastels. Isabella’s well-traveled, with time spent in Holland and Spain before returning to Singapore, and she’s focused on discovering a point of view that’s her own—not entirely divorced from Western academic art, yet distinct from it. Her studies are layered with depth, with a precision in process that’s quite different from mine, but we share a commitment to constant exploration.

and introducing my collaborator and friend.

Urmi Magoon is an extramural educator for kids and some of their parents. She’s an artist with a fine art background and a designer with decades of corporate experience. We met about a year ago in a women’s entrepreneur event, and it’s been an interesting journey to this collaboration as artists who exhibits with their students. Her aim for the show is to both do her own work in a pace that is matching her lifestyle, and not dictated by the art world. And her student Arsh Minhas is 19 years old, a fan of comic art and the art of the late Kim Jung Gi, he’s exploring his cultural heritage through interpreting an ancient signs through the lens of comic visual language, including a 3D printed character.

And Urmi’s student Arsh Minhas is 19 years old, a fan of comic art and the art of the late and great Kim Jung Gi, he’s exploring his cultural heritage. By interpreting an ancient signs through the lens of comic visual language, including a 3D printed character, he’s created a bold modern expression and I cannot wait for you to see these works.

Here is the official webpage for the group show. You can read more about each of the exhibiting artists in their own words.

Lost and Found: Stages of an Artist’s Creative Journey - a group show

Start before you’re ready: a traveling artist field notes