Shirley Wong
Shirley Wong is a Singaporean artist who took an unconventional route to her creative calling. Once labeled as "ungifted" because her coloring strayed outside the lines and her drawings seemed unremarkable, Wong shelved her artistic ambitions early in life. Instead, she forged a successful career in corporate writing and communications, only to return to her true passion after a decade. A sports injury from rock climbing became the catalyst for her artistic rebirth at 30.
Now, Wong's work is a vibrant exploration of how art intertwines with behavioral science and psychology, and how the synergy of words and imagery can unlock new dimensions of expression. She is dedicated to creating art as an ongoing conversation between the spoken and the unspoken, investigating the dynamic dance between visual expression and human behavior. Each artwork explores how we communicate beyond words—where colors and forms become a language of their own, revealing the hidden conversations we all have with ourselves and each other.
Artist Statement
Shreds from Newspapers, Magazines, Waste Paper, and Video
Twisting Words delves into the intersection of my dual roles as a writer and artist, where the act of twisting words becomes both a livelihood and a profound metaphor for transformation. Inspired by Radical Matters, which explores unconventional artistic materials, I was drawn to the idea of repurposing discarded paper into a meaningful new form.
This installation features a sculptural landscape made from over 5kg of waste paper, including newspapers, magazines, and research papers sourced throughout London. Each sheet is shredded and intricately twisted into miniature sculptures that interlock organically, forming a mesmerizing, waterfall-like structure that captures the fragility and transformation of language.
The process of creation offers a reflective metaphor: newspaper, with its ink-stained residue, creates the longest twists, symbolizing the enduring yet burdensome nature of written communication. Magazine pages, though smooth and vibrant, are less substantial, mirroring how superficial media often lacks depth. A4 printing paper from articles and journals, while producing the most intricate and stable twists, also brings physical discomfort—paper cuts and blisters—echoing the personal sacrifices inherent in a word-based career.
An 18-minute video further enriches this exploration. It begins with a reflection of me twisting paper on a laptop screen, blending the physical act with digital realms. A close-up of my hands engaged in this process, with the laptop in the background, underscores the intimate link between manual effort and digital communication. The final scene features the twisted paper sculptures atop a laptop, illustrating how the sheer volume of manipulated words can obscure their digital origin, inviting reflection on media consumption and perception.
Viewers are encouraged to engage closely with the installation, using headphones to experience the tactile sensations of paper twisting. As they explore, they may attempt to decipher the distorted text, only to find much of it unintelligible. The intentional inclusion of twisted blank paper challenges the assumption that every fragment must hold meaning, prompting a reconsideration of our instinct to impose order on chaos.
Twisting Words serves as a meditation on the nature of language and a critique of media consumption, urging viewers to rethink how we interpret and derive meaning from the fragmented and obscure while reflecting on the personal transformations and challenges encountered in the world of communication.
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