Returning to ART SG for its third edition, Yeo Workshop is delighted to present a selection of recent works by local and regional artists Wei Leng Tay, Noor Mahnun (Anum), Shayne Phua, Tra My Nguyen and Joanne E-lynn Lim. United by their exploration of materiality, these five artists interrogate the physical and conceptual dimensions of materials—photography, painting, ceramics, textiles and technology—-offering fresh perspectives on the interplay between form, texture, and meaning.
Wei Leng Tay examines the relationship between the photographic document, memory and materiality, often reworking archival images through various processes including digital imaging, historical contact printing, and the physical manipulation of images. Her work Untitled (Tay in Five Parts) comprises five photograms, made using the cyanotype process, one of the earliest processes of photography created in the 19th century. Imprinting her fragmented self into the work, the body and image become vessel, memory, projection and trace, urging us to consider what a photograph is, and how images—and therefore histories—can be interpreted.
With a tongue-in-cheek approach to materiality, Shayne Phua references the narrative of the ancient Chinese king, Goujian, for her ceramic work You will like this bitter cake. She relates the moral of Goujian’s tale to a contemporary phenomenon: how things that are otherwise considered hardships have become sublimated into activities worthy of bragging; overworking for instance, have become a source of public pride for some on social media. The phrase “vile bile” on her whimsical ceramic fountain suggests the enjoyment of something unpalatable, a transformation of Goujian’s self-inflicted suffering into a burden that contemporary society has embraced.
Tra My Nguyen’s work Bodies (The Lovers) enlivens her childhood in Vietnam, where the streets of Hanoi spark reflections on colorism, mobility, and gender politics. Inspired by the culture of female motorists, who wear bright, mismatched garments to shield their skin from the sun, Nguyen reimagines these mass-produced clothes as both symbols of identity and objects of transformation. Through processes of digitization and flat-bed scanning, she preserves these motorcycle garments in a suspended hollow form that invites reflection on the body as a site of desire.
Taking a more traditional approach, yet with commensurate inquisitiveness, Noor Mahnun (Anum) paints figurative and still life compositions that prompt contemplation with a completely different sentiment. She draws on everyday life, fusing elements of realism with the unconventional to render her domestic scenes somewhat curious. Homework is a self-portrait depicting herself houseclearing and in preparation for a painting, while Boxers reflects the popular sport in Malaysia from the 1930s, one that her father had participated in. Integrated within her paintings are intricate geometrical patterns that subtly gesture at the boundaries of ornamentation and abstraction, pointing towards an obsession for repetition that reveals the meticulous labour of the artist’s hand. These works presented at the fair are a preview of her forthcoming solo debut exhibition at the gallery in May 2025.
Looking at intimacy of the everyday with a critical lens, Joanne E-Lynn Lim investigates data collection, privacy and the rise of modern surveillance embedded in our daily lives. Her neon light installation, what’s in a name? (2024), is subtly placed to emit the phrase ‘NOTHING TO HIDE’, challenging viewers with its dual meaning: a concession to constant observation and a critique of our eroding privacy. Lim reminds us of the dangerous assumption that only those with “something to hide” should be concerned about surveillance, illuminating the unseen consequences of complacency. Her work invites us to peer inside and confront the seamless yet invasive nature of data capture, drawing on materials that reflect the city’s evolving identity and the tensions between tradition and modernity.
Showcasing the diverse practices of five female artists from Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam, this presentation illuminates materiality as both medium and message. Each artist delves into the potential of materials to narrate stories and challenge perceptions, such that their works become vessels for meaning, dialogue, and transformation.