In her first solo exhibition, Berny Tan presents a new series of twenty abstract embroideries, reflecting on the medium’s obsessive nature through the repetitive motion of stitching. Each study is created by adhering to sets of written rules, based on thought patterns and mechanisms that manifest within the artist’s personal anxieties.

Rejecting the image-making typical of traditional embroidery, the artist concentrates on meticulously enacting these systems. Yet, there remains a latent tension between the mechanical and the human – the pieces are intensely structured at first glance, but closer inspection reveals how every decision, inconsistency, and workaround is recorded in thread.

The series thus seeks to inhabit an ambiguous space where the delicate and the compulsive, the therapeutic and the torturous all coexist; where the desire for control also keeps perfection out of reach.

Opening reception: 11 January, 7pm onwards

Venue: Supernormal, 333 Kreta Ayer Road, #03-20 Singapore 080333

When: 11 - 28 Jan 2018, 11am - 7pm (Monday Closed)

By: Supernormal