Image credit: Allison Low
Artist Allison Low will be presenting her very first solo exhibition at The Substation Gallery in May. Featuring children in peculiar situations, her Victorian style portraits evoke a disconcerting eeriness that draw viewers into the image, touching on themes of loss and childhood.
Chelsea Chua: What was your inspiration for Oddlings? What/who are your influences?
Allison Low: Oddlings was initially inspired by the power play that inadvertently arises between children. Over the last few years, they’ve come to mean so much more. The more time I spent with them, the more I saw portraits of all human relationships. Depictions of childhood experiences with desire, vulnerability and loss began to speak to me about the way we sometimes handle ourselves in times of emotional chaos.
The people who have moved me the most so far are Egon Schiele, Francis Bacon, Alfred Kubin, Marlene Dumas and Sophie Jodoin, among others. It is difficult to say who my influences have been specifically. I feel when it comes to art making, everything I’ve seen and experienced up until this point is what influences the work.
CC: What motivated you to hold your first solo exhibition?
AL: It’s been a long time coming, and this feels like the right time.
CC: What kind of experience do you hope to create for visitors to the gallery? Is there a music track that will be specially created for the exhibition?
AL: There is a track written specially for the show, yes. I hope to create a setting that allows for an intimate connection between the artwork and the viewer. I think that the experience anyone takes away from this would be entirely their own though.
CC: What other projects are you working on?
AL: I am currently creating new work for this particular exhibition, although I am also conceptualizing my next body of work, which will encompass drawings, paintings and possibly some installations.
Oddlings is on at The Substation Gallery from Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 May 2015. The Substation Gallery is open daily from 12pm to 8pm, and is closed on public holidays. Admission is free. The Substation is located at 45 Armenian Street, Singapore 179936. Do join us for the opening on Thursday 30 April 2015, 7pm.
