Valentino Commissions Sarah Choo Jing For Singapore Art Week

As part of Singapore Art Week, Singaporean artist Sarah Choo Jing unveils her brand-new collaboration with Italian fashion house Valentino at Soho House pop-up Soho Residency at The Warehouse Hotel in Singapore, on view through January 28, 2024. “Gestures of Affection”, a specially-commissioned series of seven unique digital and print works, references the creative director’s messages conveyed through the Spring-Summer 2024 Valentino L’Ecole collection and the brand’s key codes. A celebration of femininity and humanity, it is a visual exploration of seven characteristics integral to the female experience: sensuality, resilience, empathy, individuality, freedom, passion and vulnerability. Recorded in ultra-high speed, the seven digital videos of “Gestures of Affection” are presented through the lens of slow-motion playback at seven minutes per video. Showcasing seven painstakingly staged scenes, each stars a female protagonist echoing the varied facets of the moon – a powerful source of feminine energy – and revealing untold stories. I speak to Jing, who’s represented by Singaporean art gallery Yeo Workshop, about becoming an artist and the different stages of her creative process.

You were born in 1990 in Singapore. Tell me about your background and what drew you to art.

Art is a powerful language that connects people and allows our experiences to be shared. Both my parents are not particularly engaged in the arts. Within my extended family, only my late grandfather dabbled in the arts. From conversations with my family and late grandmother, my grandfather worked as a driver and made sculptures, paintings, as well as hand-tinted his photographs when he was not at work. We never met because he passed away at the age of 40 years old yet I feel a strange attachment because of our shared passion. I have always found that art offers a unique and universal way to engage with others meaningfully. Beyond offering new ways of seeing and understanding it, it offers dialog and connection with others, even across cultural and linguistic boundaries. My early works of art sought to bridge estranged relationships between family members through the process of staging and recording. I’d like to believe that art has the power to bring people together in meaningful and enduring ways.

Having first trained as a painter, what subsequently drew you to photography, video and installation art?

I was first trained as a painter before I moved towards exploring photography as a medium. I began to see a relationship between photography and painting, as I was frequently referencing photographs when painting. It was then that I discovered my grandfather’s hand-tinted photography works. Developing an esthetic of painting on photographs came naturally, as I sought to create images in the likeness of my grandfather’s artworks. Video allows for the element of time to be considered.

Describe to me your artistic language and philosophy. What is the most important consideration when you first start creating an artwork?

The genesis of each piece of work typically stems from an emotion, be it alienation, euphoria, nostalgia, estrangement, etc. I have always believed in choosing the most appropriate medium and method to best convey the intentions or mood behind each work. Taking into consideration the physical resources and context of the work, I make considered choices and decisions along the process of making. Aptly put by Marshall McLuhan: “The medium is the message.”

Take me through the different steps of your creative and production process. Tell me about your techniques, equipment and materials.

I typically have an idea of how the final installation would look like and work backwards from my vision. The process is often intense and laborious because of the level of detail and precision in calculation involved. When I am on a shoot or a set, it is necessary that I am focused, pre-emptive and pay attention to detail. It helps to plan and sketch out my thoughts and processes, then pin them on walls for further deliberation. Every motif and every frame must be carefully considered. Every breakthrough in an artwork – be it conceptually or through techniques – is an affirmation and, in more ways than one, an achievement for any artist. The intense flood of endorphins during the process of forming ideas is just as exhilarating as the precarious moment of silence when the artist stands before his or her completed artwork. The entire processes of making an artwork – from beginning to end – are all significant moments that I look forward to.