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Ever-Were, the third solo exhibition by Shen Jiaqi (b.1989) is a poignant reflection of the inevitability of change and its resultant effects of perpetual displacement experienced by individuals who inhabit developing urban environments.
Public spaces of housing estates and community buildings share a sense of communal permanence, and they occupy the backdrop of the individual’s remembrance of the past. However, with the constant cycle of erasure and redevelopment of these spaces comes an internalised sense of loss. This generates a collective desire for private enclaves within the individual consciousness.
These enclaves provide us with much needed comfort and familiarity against the inconstant reality, as visual memories are blurred to restore certain possibilities within the past. The works in this exhibition use imagery of these remembered spaces as intermediaries to communicate loss, impermanence, and existence within social and environmental change.
Yellow lines and boundaries in the works that are inconspicuous at first glance epitomise the nature of social restrictions as latent and/or immanent, reminding us of the presence of pronouncements that influence the necessity for change and adaptability.
Shen Jiaqi is a Singaporean artist who works with the mediums of painting and installation. Her practice examines themes of boundaries, culmination of routines, along with environmental and social constraints. Through her practice, she seeks to explore the internalisation of subconscious yearning for sanctuary within the urban environment of Singapore.
Jiaqi studied painting at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2010, and Visual Art and Drama education in the National Institute of Education in 2015. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Fine Arts from Lasalle College of the Arts. Her works have been part of public showcases in Plural Art Magazine’s Our Heartlands, National Arts council’s Streets of Hope, and National Gallery Singapore’s Light Up event. Her previous solo exhibition, Comfort Zones was held at Coda Culture gallery in 2020. Group exhibitions include New Beginnings at Cuturi gallery (2020), 44th Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts Alumni Association Show at The Arts house (2019), and Art Bounties at National Library Singapore (2015).
