The second exhibition of LASALLE College of the Art’s TriSpace Open Call Series sees 22-year-old Singaporean Christina Chua stepping up the plate with her intricate work of stitching and embroidery in an exhibition called Breathe Again. “At the tender age of four, I shared a room with my grandmother and was frequently woken up by the rustling sounds of her sewing early in the morning,” explains Chua of how she first got into the art form. “Like most women of her generation, my grandmother did not know how to read or write, but she knew how to express her impassioned thoughts through embroidery.”
Chua’s childhood memories as well as present experiences are intricately expressed in her works. This is an artist who takes intricacy to an intimate level. “My work is a reflection of my life and mirrored inner-self. Often I struggle to balance the responsibilities as a woman, homemaker, young adult and artist,” she says. In one of her installations, starched cloth is folded into origami balls, with some of them partially opened to represent stages of growth. L.E.D lights are installed in certain parts of the installation, exposing hidden threads and details of the inner and outer surfaces. Says Chua, “I have been fascinated with the idea of origami. Many people perceive origami as a hobby or pastime, and as a tool to encourage creativity in children and older people. To me, repetition or folding represents a diagram of social structures.” .
Breathe Again is on through Sep 22, 10pm-6am. #B1-05 TriSpace, LASALLE College of the Arts, 1 McNally St., 6496-5000. Free.
