I was born in Ipoh, the capital city of the state of Perak, in Malaysia. I was just two when my mum became the sole breadwinner in the family after my dad passed away. I learned a lot from looking at my mum’s hard work over the years. She is a very hands-on person and quite self-taught; she bakes, sews and knits, all without the need to go to classes. Though I grew up witnessing my mum’s creativity, art was never a choice as a career in my hometown, so I completed a certificate in information systems. I moved to Singapore at the age of 19, where I currently live. This was the biggest pivotal change in my life, as Singapore exposed me to the world of art.
When I first came to Singapore, I was working in a shipping company and the route to work passed by an art school. One day, I decided to take a giant leap of faith and quit my job to join the school. Things were not a bed of roses as I struggled to pay for my living expenses plus school fees, and of course, nothing ever goes as planned. After a year of studies, the course which I wanted (jewelry design) was cancelled, and I was left to defer my current studies for two years or to choose another major. The course never resumed, and I decided to quit.
I found a job as a creative assistant in a floral shop. I began exploring foliage and asked myself, “Why must the foliage be used in a certain way? Why can’t I use it in a different form?” I began to question and regularly go against the norm. From this experience at the floral shop, I learned that materials can be in any form, and went on to create my first series of art using fresh flowers called “Beauty and the Beast.” Through an artistic expression, the unsightly urinal, potty, spittoon and toilet bowl are transformed into exquisite vases with the beauty of flowers—into a floral art. This floral art displays the hidden appeal of a subject and redefines form and function with the marriage between beauty and the beast.
Exploration and experimentation with a medium is the journey before the final outcome. I love to mix and match different elements, like making your own recipe book. While I started with using fresh flowers in my first series, I moved on to illustration, analog photography, clay, sculpture, collage, painting and more. The list will never end, and sometimes it goes back to the previous element or subject interest and a new discovery emerges again. It’s like a never-ending cross loop for me.
Making art opens a lot of opportunity for me to question and to also allow myself to accept the challenges that were given to me.
In the year of 2015, I was invited to Singaplural – Project X, a collaborative project during Singapore design week that showcases a process of transition and transformation of Lamitak laminates beyond its perceived form. Laminate was an entirely new medium for me, and it was really challenging in the beginning. During this time, I had left the floral industry for almost five to six years and moved on to other elements and mediums, yet I wanted to go back to the subject that I once loved—floral. This is how the “Plantae” series, “The Marriage,” came alive, through the marriage of real flowers and laminates, like the worldly mixed-media plant sprout-like creatures similar to those seen within a Dr. Seuss book.
The concept for “The Marriage” installation started from the intriguing essence of a flower. Through experiment and exploration, it translated to the birth of a new design outcome. For this project, I created a new species of flowers fused from real and fake. That is the marriage. Mirroring Lamitak’s process—starting with a real material and extracting the essence of the petals, patterns and original details in real flowers—I created abstract laminate floral parts, fusing them with real flower parts to form the new species.
While I’m mostly known for my “Plantae” series and “The Marriage” artwork, I have several different facades and identities, as seen throughout my other works. Many find that it’s as though a different person is working on each of the works I have produced, like a split personality, because of their vast differences. I’m a multi-disciplinary artist—I love to experiment and explore with ideas, materials and concepts.
Sometimes I like my work to be raw; sometimes I want it looking perfect! It really depends on how I feel about the material and subject that I am exploring.
In the year of 2015, I was invited to Singaplural – Project X, a collaborative project during Singapore design week that showcases a process of transition and transformation of Lamitak laminates beyond its perceived form. Laminate was an entirely new medium for me, and it was really challenging in the beginning. During this time, I had left the floral industry for almost five to six years and moved on to other elements and mediums, yet I wanted to go back to the subject that I once loved—floral. This is how the “Plantae” series, “The Marriage,” came alive, through the marriage of real flowers and laminates, like the worldly mixed-media plant sprout-like creatures similar to those seen within a Dr. Seuss book.
The concept for “The Marriage” installation started from the intriguing essence of a flower. Through experiment and exploration, it translated to the birth of a new design outcome. For this project, I created a new species of flowers fused from real and fake. That is the marriage. Mirroring Lamitak’s process—starting with a real material and extracting the essence of the petals, patterns and original details in real flowers—I created abstract laminate floral parts, fusing them with real flower parts to form the new species.
While I’m mostly known for my “Plantae” series and “The Marriage” artwork, I have several different facades and identities, as seen throughout my other works. Many find that it’s as though a different person is working on each of the works I have produced, like a split personality, because of their vast differences. I’m a multi-disciplinary artist—I love to experiment and explore with ideas, materials and concepts.
We (me and my husband) converted our four-room public housing flat in Singapore into a walk-in home studio. The studio space is supposed to be a living room, hence we have no living room in our house. It is very windy and bright, without direct sunlight, and plants edging its windows. I have a wall filled with random sketches, drawings and pictures, plus shelves filled with my tools organized by material and project. I collect analog cameras, vinyl and typewriters—a mixture of vintage stuff —mostly for sentimental value, though I do use most of the cameras and listen to the vinyl music.
My studio feels like a cafe in the day and yet, tranquil at night. My studio is well-equipped with all the different tools and materials needed along with a huge table in the center of the room. I keep commonly used tools on my table, which change based upon the projects I’m currently working on. The table is organized by purpose—an area for making plantae, an area for drawing and another space for other projects that are running at the same time.
I’m an organized mess artist. I don’t really have a notebook to sketch. Instead, I just pick up random paper—an envelope, some rough paper or even a receipt—if I do happen to want to write down an idea. I need to clear them once in a while to work. I also need to reorganize based upon the project I’m working on at that moment.
When I work, I love to turn on my aroma diffuser (a blend of orange, grapefruit, lemon-lime, bergamot, lemongrass and ginger) and music. My music always changes but definitely NO hard rock punk while I work.
It was truly by accident that I found art as my calling, yet I think I would go crazy or explode without art in my life. I have so many things going on in my head that I want to share, and the best way for me to present them is by making art. I can’t explain my thoughts in written words or through speech like I can with art. I’m not sure what kind of relationship this is. I wouldn’t call it one of lover or sibling…or even friend…it’s a whole new relationship that has no name.
I was born in Ipoh, the capital city of the state of Perak, in Malaysia. I was just two when my mum became the sole breadwinner in the family after my dad passed away. I learned a lot from looking at my mum’s hard work over the years. She is a very hands-on person and quite self-taught; she bakes, sews and knits, all without the need to go to classes. Though I grew up witnessing my mum’s creativity, art was never a choice as a career in my hometown, so I completed a certificate in information systems. I moved to Singapore at the age of 19, where I currently live. This was the biggest pivotal change in my life, as Singapore exposed me to the world of art.
When I first came to Singapore, I was working in a shipping company and the route to work passed by an art school. One day, I decided to take a giant leap of faith and quit my job to join the school. Things were not a bed of roses as I struggled to pay for my living expenses plus school fees, and of course, nothing ever goes as planned. After a year of studies, the course which I wanted (jewelry design) was cancelled, and I was left to defer my current studies for two years or to choose another major. The course never resumed, and I decided to quit.
I found a job as a creative assistant in a floral shop. I began exploring foliage and asked myself, “Why must the foliage be used in a certain way? Why can’t I use it in a different form?” I began to question and regularly go against the norm. From this experience at the floral shop, I learned that materials can be in any form, and went on to create my first series of art using fresh flowers called “Beauty and the Beast.” Through an artistic expression, the unsightly urinal, potty, spittoon and toilet bowl are transformed into exquisite vases with the beauty of flowers—into a floral art. This floral art displays the hidden appeal of a subject and redefines form and function with the marriage between beauty and the beast.
Exploration and experimentation with a medium is the journey before the final outcome. I love to mix and match different elements, like making your own recipe book. While I started with using fresh flowers in my first series, I moved on to illustration, analog photography, clay, sculpture, collage, painting and more. The list will never end, and sometimes it goes back to the previous element or subject interest and a new discovery emerges again. It’s like a never-ending cross loop for me.
Making art opens a lot of opportunity for me to question and to also allow myself to accept the challenges that were given to me.
In the year of 2015, I was invited to Singaplural – Project X, a collaborative project during Singapore design week that showcases a process of transition and transformation of Lamitak laminates beyond its perceived form. Laminate was an entirely new medium for me, and it was really challenging in the beginning. During this time, I had left the floral industry for almost five to six years and moved on to other elements and mediums, yet I wanted to go back to the subject that I once loved—floral. This is how the “Plantae” series, “The Marriage,” came alive, through the marriage of real flowers and laminates, like the worldly mixed-media plant sprout-like creatures similar to those seen within a Dr. Seuss book.
The concept for “The Marriage” installation started from the intriguing essence of a flower. Through experiment and exploration, it translated to the birth of a new design outcome. For this project, I created a new species of flowers fused from real and fake. That is the marriage. Mirroring Lamitak’s process—starting with a real material and extracting the essence of the petals, patterns and original details in real flowers—I created abstract laminate floral parts, fusing them with real flower parts to form the new species.
While I’m mostly known for my “Plantae” series and “The Marriage” artwork, I have several different facades and identities, as seen throughout my other works. Many find that it’s as though a different person is working on each of the works I have produced, like a split personality, because of their vast differences. I’m a multi-disciplinary artist—I love to experiment and explore with ideas, materials and concepts.
Sometimes I like my work to be raw; sometimes I want it looking perfect! It really depends on how I feel about the material and subject that I am exploring.
In the year of 2015, I was invited to Singaplural – Project X, a collaborative project during Singapore design week that showcases a process of transition and transformation of Lamitak laminates beyond its perceived form. Laminate was an entirely new medium for me, and it was really challenging in the beginning. During this time, I had left the floral industry for almost five to six years and moved on to other elements and mediums, yet I wanted to go back to the subject that I once loved—floral. This is how the “Plantae” series, “The Marriage,” came alive, through the marriage of real flowers and laminates, like the worldly mixed-media plant sprout-like creatures similar to those seen within a Dr. Seuss book.
The concept for “The Marriage” installation started from the intriguing essence of a flower. Through experiment and exploration, it translated to the birth of a new design outcome. For this project, I created a new species of flowers fused from real and fake. That is the marriage. Mirroring Lamitak’s process—starting with a real material and extracting the essence of the petals, patterns and original details in real flowers—I created abstract laminate floral parts, fusing them with real flower parts to form the new species.
While I’m mostly known for my “Plantae” series and “The Marriage” artwork, I have several different facades and identities, as seen throughout my other works. Many find that it’s as though a different person is working on each of the works I have produced, like a split personality, because of their vast differences. I’m a multi-disciplinary artist—I love to experiment and explore with ideas, materials and concepts.
We (me and my husband) converted our four-room public housing flat in Singapore into a walk-in home studio. The studio space is supposed to be a living room, hence we have no living room in our house. It is very windy and bright, without direct sunlight, and plants edging its windows. I have a wall filled with random sketches, drawings and pictures, plus shelves filled with my tools organized by material and project. I collect analog cameras, vinyl and typewriters—a mixture of vintage stuff —mostly for sentimental value, though I do use most of the cameras and listen to the vinyl music.
My studio feels like a cafe in the day and yet, tranquil at night. My studio is well-equipped with all the different tools and materials needed along with a huge table in the center of the room. I keep commonly used tools on my table, which change based upon the projects I’m currently working on. The table is organized by purpose—an area for making plantae, an area for drawing and another space for other projects that are running at the same time.
I’m an organized mess artist. I don’t really have a notebook to sketch. Instead, I just pick up random paper—an envelope, some rough paper or even a receipt—if I do happen to want to write down an idea. I need to clear them once in a while to work. I also need to reorganize based upon the project I’m working on at that moment.
When I work, I love to turn on my aroma diffuser (a blend of orange, grapefruit, lemon-lime, bergamot, lemongrass and ginger) and music. My music always changes but definitely NO hard rock punk while I work.
It was truly by accident that I found art as my calling, yet I think I would go crazy or explode without art in my life. I have so many things going on in my head that I want to share, and the best way for me to present them is by making art. I can’t explain my thoughts in written words or through speech like I can with art. I’m not sure what kind of relationship this is. I wouldn’t call it one of lover or sibling…or even friend…it’s a whole new relationship that has no name.
