Person smiling and flipping through a notebook in a dimly lit room with sunlight streaming in.

About

Chi-ann is a Singaporean artist based in the UK working in a multi-disciplinary way creating works through painting and drawing, installations and whatever medium she finds best suits the stories she wants to tell. She is interested in exploring family histories and memory, using photographs to create a dialogue between the past and present. In particular, she is interested in female stories both personal and universal - exploring the power and significance of women throughout history and in her own personal stories.

Discovering a passion for art later in life after her children had grown up, she found a new lease of life in adopting an open and curious attitude to creativity. She started working with textiles, print, found objects, painting with inks, home-made pigments, acrylics and oils and explored 3D work with natural object, wire and clay. She is equally interested in how moving image and sound works can convey deep and resonant experiences.

She has made the transition from educator to maker and is keen to develop an art career rooted in the philosophy of play and exploration. She is interested in making work that is authentic and emotive, drawing on personal memories and experiences.

Abstract red and black ink block prints in a grid pattern on paper.

Wire and thread art installation with intricate woven designs.

Abstract hanging sculpture with wire and yarn

Abstract artwork featuring organic shapes inspired by plants, including swirling lines, eyes integrated into plant-like structures, and whimsical elements with a mix of colors and textures.

Close-up of a wire sculpture with pink accents, suspended by a string, against a blurred white background.

Current projects

I am working on a project entitled “Mothers, Matriarchs and Monsters”. It is a huge project with many trails of interest to follow and research. I started off wanting to explore the matriarchs in my family and examine their remarkable stories and how they have been lynchpins in holding our families together. I was also interested in delving into the ideas of motherhood and and the matrilineal line. But my latest rabbit hole has been examining the concept of female monstrosity - the way women have been turned into monsters and evil creatures throughout histories. I started looking at mythologies and folktales and discovered a rich trove of stories rooted in fear of female sexuality and power. A current source of rich inspiration has been the tales of the vagina dentata (the toothed vagina). Throughout the world, these tell about women who are feared because a demon, fish, monstrous creature lived in their vaginas and emasculated men who tried to have sex with them. They are not pleasant stories, as they revolve around the rape and submission and domestication of these women so they might become good wives or pliant females. I’ve really enjoyed exploring ideas of reclaiming the stories to give power and autonomy to women while re-examining the stories we tell our children that shape their view of the world and their place it.