“I’m finally able to watch my old, dusty DVD collection from my school years. From adolescence angst to corny indie flicks, each one captured a moment in my life, which I’m now able to revisit and explore again. I even get to cross each one off my scribbled watch-list circa my 2008 teenage diary. It’s great feeling 17 again. Or better yet, the chance to get inspired by things forgotten.”
Check out Song’s works here.
Read more on Song here – we interviewed this rising name for our November issue last year, where she shared with us what drives her enigmatic narratives.
“This is a photo of my parents, who have taken to the abrupt lifestyle change with so much optimism. We don’t see each other often because our regular schedules are very different but being able to spend time with them recently has been unexpectedly uplifting.”
Check out Sim’s works here.
“This book (What A Time To Be Alone by British-Nigerian author Chidera Eggerue, a guidebook for women with a heavy focus on self-love) has had a profound impact on me and no matter how many times I return to it, I’m constantly amazed at what I learn from it. Eggerue essentially talks about how your individual company is golden and is worth everything.”
Check out Burt’s works here.
Burt recently staged her second solo show, ‘What is the current that presents a behaved waist’ at Yeo Workshop gallery. Read more on her thoughts about her next exhibition – a joint effort with fashion educator Daniela Monasterios-Tan – that seeks to examine fashion’s place in society.
“Lately, I’ve been using scrap leaves and leftover dye to dye scarves. Engaging in the physicality of taking great care and observing colour changes keeps me anchored and busy enough to stay away from the clamour in virtual spaces. It has been a very soothing and nurturing process learning how to make better use of waste and being patient through the trial and errors.”
Check out Kiong’s works here.
“I think the most meaningful thing to me right now is observing this unprecedented show of altruism through the Internet. I’m talking about the outpouring of genuine concern over migrant workers, the homeless, and other vulnerable groups. Not just surface-level attention, but a deep growing interest in deconstructing the systematic/structural influences and sparking conversations about how to start solving them as well. It sort of gives me hope that there’s a reason for this whole thing maybe – that we can come out of it with a new sense of compassion and connection.”
Check out Ho’s works here.
On how he translates childhood memories, dreams and personal experiences into a beautiful, cohesive album, here’s our interview with Kin Leonn.
Check out Wong’s works here.
“I currently find being able to watch people from the window of my room inspiring and a breath of fresh air from the confines of home. While watching people, I also sometimes put on Dawn Chorus by Thom Yorke – a song a close friend sent to me as a comfort in these uncertain times. Here’s to sending love to anyone who doesn’t have the privilege and access to do any of this.”
Check out Loh’s works here.
Read more on why you should be paying attention to Loh’s newly launched photobook, Grey is the New Black (Unseen Singapore), which celebrates the individual styles of Singapore’s elderly population – with all proceeds going to non-profit organisation Happy People Helping People.
“So I recently discovered (Italian artist) Guglielmo Castelli’s paintings and they really make me miss drawing and painting. I especially love his (earthy) colour palettes and textures in the paintings. Definitely very inspired by them!”
Check out Cheong’s works here.
“As a visual person, my definition of freedom is to rid the over-reliance of already-made images when producing shoots. I try to find structures in other forms of media so that I am not bound by pictures. It’s important for the process to be translatable to my collaborators and for the work to retain some level of organicism.
Musicians have found many solutions to this need – one of them being through the use of graphic notation (the art of translating music into visuals). Two different mediums are bridged together – that is, two senses are engaged – in this process, and the use of symbols welcomes interpretation, which in turn causes organised chaos. These visuals are not random – it’s still a roadmap but allows for freer forms of music and ways of playing. Nothing is right or wrong.
This (pictured above) is an interesting piece called Mycenae Alpha by Iannis Xenakis, the French-Greek composer-mathematician-engineer-architect. He created UCIP, a computer program that renders drawings into sound, and Mycenae Alpha was his first piece made using it. What I like about this one is that you can immediately see something supernatural and grotesque, and the song is exactly that. Simply from looking at the shapes in the score you have an idea of what you’re going to be listening to. What I see is that the visuals denote the sound, so perhaps the sound can (also) denote visuals instead. I’d like to try this out for my work, and that’s why I’m always looking forward.”
Check out Nila’s works here.