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Shen Jiaqi: The Artist Making Us Rethink Public Spaces

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Shen Jiaqi: The Artist Making Us Rethink Public Spaces

The visual artist likes to involve familiar, communal settings in her work to reach as many people as possible and have them question the conditioning that comes with routine.

by Keng Yang Shuen  /   February 28, 2021
singapore artist

Covered Walkway In Twilight (2020) by Shen Jiaqi. Credit: Cuturi Gallery

The otherworldly microcosms encapsulated in Shen’s paintings are comfortingly relatable, depicting communal areas such as void decks and HDB corridors in a lush colour palette meant to encourage discussion.

“The spaces that I create are welcoming to an extent to symbolise the physical security that we feel as well as the possibility of achieving certain ideals of happiness,” she explains.

Spot the neon yellow lines and accents that are a recurrent motif in her recent works – inspired by signs such as those used to demarcate smoking areas – and the work takes on a darker meaning.

Credit:Courtesy

Visual artist Shen likes to involve familiar, communal settings in her work to reach as many people as possible and have them question the conditioning that comes with routine.

“I liken them to a sort of willing containment; a choice that many have taken in order to protect what they consider familiar and comfortable,” she explains.

“Marginalised communities however can have a hard time surfacing their needs and issues, and there always seems to be pushback against new possibilities because of these internalised comfort zones.”

The 31-year-old has fought to renounce her own comfort zones – her personal financial situation saw her turn to teaching for the past eight years. It was only last year that she decided to pursue her original goal of becoming a full-time artist.

It’s one that’s paid off: She staged her first solo show at Coda Culture last September and has another in March at Cuturi Gallery. The latter’s focus is another topic Singaporeans would be familiar with: how fast-paced changes affect our lived experiences.


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https://www.femalemag.com.sg/gallery/culture/shen-jiaqi-singapore-artist-painting-public-spaces/
Shen Jiaqi: The Artist Making Us Rethink Public Spaces
KEPT THE FIRST FOR ANOTHER DAY, 2020
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Cuturi Gallery
UNDREAMT SPACIOUSNESS, 2020
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Cuturi Gallery
NECESSARY SANCTUARY, 2020
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Cuturi Gallery
COVERED WALKWAY IN TWILIGHT, 2020
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Cuturi Gallery
SETTLEMENTS, 2020
image
Cuturi Gallery
ROUTE BACK HOME, 2020
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A version of this article first appeared in the January/February 2021 Art & Music edition of FEMALE

Courtesy
  • TAGS:
  • artist
  • artists
  • coda culture
  • culture
  • cuturi gallery
  • paintings
  • shen jiaqi
  • singapore artist
  • singapore artists
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