Cover Sarah Choo Jing
Sarah Choo Jing
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Three female artists across generations, including Sarah Choo Jing, explore identity, storytelling and empowerment through their distinctive artistic practices
For Singapore Art Week 2024, Singaporean artist Sarah Choo Jing unveiled Gestures of Affection, an installation commissioned by Valentino. Presented at Soho House’s Soho Residency pop-up, the work featured seven digital videos celebrating the beauty, complexity and strength of the female form. Each video aligned with the lunar cycle’s seven phases, symbolising facets of the female experience. Individuality, reminiscent of Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, celebrated empowerment and motherhood through the depiction of a pregnant woman, while Sensuality challenged stereotypes by featuring a woman embracing her age and scars.
The 34-year-old describes the project as deeply personal yet universal in its exploration of identity, empowerment and transformation. “It was a by-women- and-for-women initiative. Growing up, it was challenging to tell my traditional parents that I wanted to do art, let alone as a female artist. It’s very difficult [for female artists], so I feel strongly about causes that push for support of women,” she shares.
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Above Louis Vuitton outfit, Choo’s own jewellery
Louis Vuitton outfit, Choo’s own jewellery
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Choo’s journey began with scrapbooking using colouring pencils, candy wrappers and pages from her mother’s magazines, which fascinated her with the “amazing layouts and creative photography”. Later, she studied oil painting in secondary school, teaching herself watercolour and acrylic painting through library books.
Two early works cemented her career aspirations. The first was a secondary school assignment themed Spiral Structures. “I approached the theme more conceptually—spiralling downward into a hole you can never get out of. After the presentation, I realised I have something to say,” she shares.
The second was The Hidden Dimension, which she presented at an earlier edition of the Affordable Art Fair. “It’s a digital composite of my family in a living space. I remember [former] nominated member of parliament Janice Koh asking about the work. When I shared the story, I saw how it resonated with everyone at the booth. It made me feel like I could actually make it,” she recounts.
These early projects shaped Choo’s artistic philosophy, centring on the message as the foundation of her creative process. “I always go back to what I’m trying to say. What is my message?” she highlights, drawing upon Marshall McLuhan’s concept of “the medium is the message” to choose the medium that best articulates the story. Today, Choo’s portfolio reflects an interdisciplinary approach, blending photography, video and installation.
Above Donna Ong (pictured left) wears Hermès outfit. Choo (centre) wears Tod’s outfit. Kumari Nahappan (right) wears Hermès coat, scarf, her own dress
Donna Ong (pictured left) wears Hermès outfit. Choo (centre) wears Tod’s outfit. Kumari Nahappan (right) wears Hermès coat, scarf, her own dress
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Collaboration has become a defining feature of her practice, challenging the meticulous control she once prioritised. She describes her process as highly systematic, with detailed plans and time sheets dictating how the final work should take shape. “I need to count the minutes. I need to create potential accidents to happen. So at a synchronised timing, everybody is doing something or something happens.”
During the Covid-19 circuit breaker in Singapore in 2020, she created Zoom Click Waltz—13 LED screens showing isolated individuals in various states of “performance”—and invited neighbours to participate. “Some declined, which was okay. [Eventually], I realised the final product looked very different from what I [had initially] imagined.” The experience taught her to embrace uncertainty. “Trusting the process is a part of [collaboration]. I have grown to enjoy letting go of control,” she reflects.
This philosophy carried into Gestures of Affection, where the subjects shaped much of the installation’s emotional tone. “[The works depended on] how they felt about the shoot, what emotion they wanted to bring to the table, and how they wanted to move. It was their call.”
Above ‘A Walk in the Park’ (Photo: Instagram / @sarahchoojing)
‘A Walk in the Park’ (Photo: Instagram / @sarahchoojing)
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For Singapore Art Week 2025 this month, Choo will present a personal collaboration with her filmmaker brother as part of Construction in Every Corner, an exhibition commissioned by the NTU Museum. “I have always wanted to work with him,” she shares. “He does works that are ... quite different from what I do. His aesthetics are very cinematographic, not as staged as how I would present my works.” Their clashing styles have also introduced creative tension. “I want it dark and shot with dramatic lighting, but he [thinks it should] be natural,” she admits.
Despite these differing styles, their shared focus on societal expectations anchors the project. “Because we grew up in a similar environment, we often talk about society’s expectations for him versus me. So we thought, what would be more apt than a piece where we can talk to one another?”
The work marks a shift from Choo’s highly staged nature, allowing more raw emotion. “It would be one of the first few times where I let more emotions come into the work,” she explains. Through such collaborations, Choo has found a new dimension to her artistry, reminding us that art can be a collective journey. “It’s the beauty of collaboration, right? We learn to embrace each other’s differences.”
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Credits
Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow
Styling: Adriel Chiun
Hair: Leong, using Kevin Murphy
Make-Up: Wee Ming, using Gucci Beauty
Stylist's Assistant: Eriqa Nayly Qistina
Nafeesa Saini is the Features Editor at Tatler Singapore, where she shapes long-form stories on culture, business, philanthropy, wellness, and the people driving change in Asia. With a deep interest in storytelling that intersects meaningfully with identity and impact, she has profiled a diverse range of visionaries, from scientific pioneers in AI and health to creative trailblazers and literary minds.
Nafeesa’s writing includes cover stories and profiles that spotlight influential voices, alongside commentary on the trends reshaping our world.
Off the clock, Nafeesa unwinds with fiction, a good thrift hunt, and ‘brainrot’ TikTok scroll—while always keeping one eye on her next cultural getaway, usually to Indonesia.
