HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU

Ahead of her installation at Light to Night Singapore this month, artist Sarah Choo Jing talks about her interdisciplinary practice, creative inspirations and passion as an arts educator 

- Ethan Kan

There is something of the uncanny when you look upon a Sarah Choo Jing artwork. Her worlds are dark, urban, and lit up only by neon and fluorescent lights—think her 2021 piece Not From Here, depicting a ghostly Lau Pa Sat during the pandemic. Her works may feature one character, such as the solitary personas brooding in hotel rooms in her 2018 artwork series Accelerated Intimacy, or many, as in her 2013 multimedia installation The Hidden Dimension. But there is always the sense that the viewer is pulling back the curtains on their private worlds, often lined with loneliness, alienation and liminality.

As dark as her works may be, Choo’s disposition in person offers a glimpse into the natural curiosity that propels her to gaze so deeply and introspectively in her work. At 33, she is an accomplished artist by any means, with a litany of awards such as the Gold Award won at the 2019 PX3 Prix de la Photographie competition and the Icon de Martell Cordon Bleu photography award (2013). She takes inspiration from the phrase “the medium is the message”, coined by communication theorist Marshall McLuhan, choosing between mediums such as photography, video and installation to convey her intentions.