I am originally from Singapore and am currently in Naarm/Melbourne, Australia. I received my PhD in 2024 with the thesis: A Singaporean Art? Performance and Installation Art, 1985-2024 (under embargo). The thesis examines questions of national, regional, and disciplinary identities in relation to contemporary performance and installation art practice in Singapore. Parts of the thesis have been published: An early version of chapter two, on the relationship between art and theatre, is published in Southeast of Now in 2022 as “Black Cube: The Stage for Performance in Singapore, 1995–96”. A segment of one of these two chapters, on Australia and Malaysia-based Simryn Gill’s Washed Up (1993-1995), is published as ““Local” belonging” with the Singapore Art Museum.
I am a curator, cultural producer, and trained art historian. I write about and am interested in the place of art, whatever that may mean, in the creation, maintenance, and regeneration of interpersonal connections. These may be the creation of a post-national identity; maintaining relations across the digital space; the regeneration of almost-extinct traditions through artistic intervention and exhibition.
I work quite a bit in the digital space: I have led too many online events and supported too many websites to adequately summarise. I am extremely proud to have led the digitisation of the Art and Australia magazine archive. Through my efforts, this heritage publication is now open-access.
I am fluent in English and Mandarin. Bahasa Indonesia is my current goal. Thanks to a rigorous classic art history BA program, I also have reading abilities in German and Italian.
Generally, I like to keep to myself but can also be a workaholic.