Artist Sam Lo’s thoughts on Singapore’s contemporary art scene

Many people talk about the contemporary art scene in Singapore. Locally, it’s separated into fine art and commercial art. Like most people, I try to balance both, but I lean towards the commercial field.

SURVIVING AS AN ARTIST IN SINGAPORE

When I first started out as an artist, I had no idea how I was going to survive. To make a living doing what I love, I got into commercial art. In comparison, a fine artist has to do residencies and are represented by galleries. They sell artwork and do the occasional commission, but the path I took was different. The people that I’m surrounded by did not go down that route either. Most of us work with agencies and use the skillsets we have.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FREELANCE CREATIVE

Currently as a freelance creative, I paint murals and design work for a living. Part of the job requires you to think about the clients you work with and whether they are in line with your personal brand. That’s what a lot of people struggle with – balancing the brand's interests and their own – which is why we have learnt to carefully toe the line in order to create something that best represents us as artists. I've come across scenarios where clients view the artist like a hired hand. They want them to do something based on a brief, but not what the artist represents or what they base their practice on. It is always important to stress to clients that if you want an artist to do a commissioned piece, you have to find the right artist – based on their beliefs, their visual style, their discipline, their messages and their interests.

Freelance creatives spend many years honing their practice and I feel that should be respected. Thankfully, those I’ve worked with know where I’m coming from, and they’re familiar with my visual style. To me, the brand and aesthetics have to be in line with the artist’s. Another thing I see happening quite a bit in Singapore is self-policing, or self-censorship.

SINGAPORE'S STATE OF ART

One question I get a lot is if creating art in Singapore is stifling with the rules and regulations. You just have to be creative within these boundaries and view them as a challenge. For those who create murals or public art, the first thing we think about is whether the Media Development Authority will allow it – on top of the legality of the space the artwork will be in. This covers nudity, religion, racial themes, political themes, or drugs. We can’t talk about any of that. As artists, I feel that we have the responsibility to the public, to society, and to the place we live in, to talk about the things that play a part in the way we live. Art that goes beyond the structures we have now. It is important to talk about many of these topics in our society but at the same time, it’s hard to progress if we’re unable to do so. Finding that sweet spot is a balancing act for a lot of us.

Personally, this has played a part in the approach to my art-making process. Early on in my practice, I have learned to balance between being as objective as I can and taking a more satirical approach to tackle these tough, sensitive topics to navigate around the systems here. We kind of go around it and take a gentler approach. In the process, I find myself understanding my audience more with every piece, and the dialogue that comes out of it. But hopefully in time, there will be a difference. There are local contemporary artists out there – both up-and-coming and veterans – doing really incredible work. It’s my hope that people get to see them.

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