Commissioned for a friend’s daughter, Tara. From her expression here, you can’t tell what she is thinking, whether she’s bored or simply pensive. A special feature is a subtle ellipsis, or the three subtle dots near Tara’s forehead. An ellipsis literally means ‘the omission from speech or writing of a word’, and I placed it here to symbolise all the unspoken conversations caused or complicated by our dependency on these smartphones, tablets, and other gadgets.

PORTRAIT OF TARA

2015 / 60.96 x 60.96 CM

A post-pandemic piece. In the wake of the global lockdowns and rising death tolls, I felt a lot of my belief systems had gone through an upheaval. And as I was questioning and reshaping these beliefs, this title, the line from Hamilton’s Yorktown kept playing in my head as I observed how the world was responding to the abrupt changes. The painting can actually be viewed or displayed upside down, with the urban landscape above its reflection, or as it is, with golden sun rays streaking past the horizon. The message being, sometimes when hope seems lost, it’s all a matter of flipping one’s perspective.

THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

2021 / 122 x 91 CM

Made for one of my closest friends who had expressed her interest in a painting I had made the year prior, Chapter IX. She stated she liked the flurry of birds, wanted something beach-inspired, and was particularly keen on shades of aquamarine and turquoise. The commotion, and what seems to be a transition of flying fish to seabirds is actually a wink to a cheesy movie line: ‘A bird may love a fish, signore, but where will they live?’ Da Vinci responds, ‘Then I shall have to make you wings.’

FLYING SCHOOL

2018 / 90 x 150 CM

Commissioned by a friend who, due to pandemic-related lockdowns, had been physically separated from his newlywed-wife. This painting was a gift to celebrate their reunion. He had said he wanted something to symbolise their time apart, represented here by the Filipino cathedral on one side and the row of Singaporean shophouses on the other. Additionally, he mentioned that once restrictions eased, they both dreamed of traveling again and revisiting places like San Sebastián, symbolised by the Palace Carousel of La Concha Beach, as the main subject in the center. I purposefully made the composition to be of a two-point perspective (two vanishing points), as a reminder to the couple, that in times of disagreement or disconnect, it is healthy to bear in mind, that there are always two sides. What matters in the end however, is simply, happy compromise.

MEET IN THE MIDDLE (MEET IN SAN SEBASTIÁN)

2020 / 40 x 50 CM

This triptych was to be placed by a stairwell with a stark white wall, so I knew I wanted it to be extra colourful for it to pop and bring the room to life. I researched on different types of tropical plants online and by going to the different parks and reservoirs here in Singapore. And then I selected the ones whose shapes and colour gradations I liked the most, like the caladiums and begonias, which have these beautiful, rich red, pink, and purple tones against green.

 TROPICAL TRIPTYCH

2016 / 182.88 x 152.4 CM; 60.96 x 152.4 CM EACH PANEL

The family that had commissioned this work had expressed liking my Living With Art Singapore piece Hawker Clamour. They were moving away from Singapore, but wanted to take with them a memento of one of their favourite eating spots, Newton Hawker Centre. Against the florescent-lit stall menu signages and Newton’s signature outdoor parasols, there is a whole commotion of diners seated, standing, or rushing by. But in the foreground to the right, you may vaguely make out a silhouette of a family of three: the most visible being the mother, and with their backs turned, a father and little daughter. Notably beside them is a jet-black baby pram- a personal ‘Easter egg’ that the mum had requested, as they expecting their second child when the painting was commissioned,

 THE FAMILY AT NEWTON HAWKER CENTRE

2022 / 61 x 61 CM

Painted during the third trimester of my first pregnancy. Inspired by the ninth chapter of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince: 

I believe that for his escape he took advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds. On the morning of his departure he put his planet in perfect order.

CHAPTER IX

2017 / 102 x 76 CM

Commissioned nursery painting for an expectant couple’s first son. Inspired by the twenty-first chapter of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince: 

—-

"One only understands the things that one tames," said the fox. "Men have no more time to understand anything. They buy things all ready made at the shops. But there is no shop anywhere where one can buy friendship, and so men have no friends any more. If you want a friend, tame me . . ."

"What must I do, to tame you?" asked the little prince.

"You must be very patient," replied the fox. "First you will sit down at a little distance from me--like that--in the grass. I shall look at you out of the corner of my eye, and you will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstandings. But you will sit a little closer to me, every day . . ."

The next day the little prince came back.

CHAPTER XXI

2021 / 42 x 59 CM

My third commissioned piece for a businessman who had requested eight gold fish and one black fish in his painting for feng shui purposes. Instead of painting fish swimming around in a pond or contained body of water as I would normally do, I painted [most of] the fish facing one direction, in a row. I purposely painted the one black fish, the 'odd one out' in the opposite direction to symbolise and celebrate those who dare to be different and go against the norm.

AGAINST THE FLOW

2013 / 167.6 X 106.7 CM

Punta Bunga View (Banyugan, Boracay) was made for my dear childhood friend Joanna and her husband Rob. They wanted, particularly, a Boracay beach painting because this was where their engagement, and eventually their wedding took place.

PUNTA BUNGA VIEW

2022 / 51 x 25.5 CM

Commissioned as album cover for Singaporean RnB recording artist Keyana, with GOF_Y Creative Community for S.E.A.

SUNDOWN

2021 / 30.5 x 30.5 CM

Inspired by Udaipur, the city of lakes in North India.

DEIVA'S LAKE

2016 / 91.4 x 61 CM

I noticed a recurring theme in some of my works: that there was only a single subject amidst a large, slightly ominous backdrop (see below: single Lifesaver painting and first gallery-featured oil painting Lone Balloon). For me, they were meant to be symbols of hope emerging from a journey. After marrying in 2015, I then thought to myself, what if I started painting subjects in pairs? The lifesavers depicted here are symbolic of how one can journey through life, not alone, but with a partner. This was my first artwork exploring that theme of partnership. Marriage or any committed relationship, like the sea, can ebb and flow with good and bad times. And sometimes, it is just a matter of staying ‘afloat’ together. 

TWO LIFESAVERS

2015 / 81.28 X 40.64 CM

At 4 1/2 feet-long, this painting was once one of the largest pieces I’d done at the time. Commissioned as a Valentine’s Day gift for his wife named Georgia, the husband explained that she loved the sunsets in Tali Beach in Batangas, Philippines. Having seen the spectacular sunsets there, I knew I wanted to paint a fiery, multi-coloured sunset bursting across the clouds, with only a hint of the actual blue sky. All this commotion of light and colours I wanted to reflect on the surface of the sea below as well. And with Georgia being a mother to four young daughters, I knew they’d appreciate the spectrum of rainbow hues.

SUNSET FOR GEORGIA

2014 / 137.7 X 107 CM