I’ve been friends with Samuel Xun for a few years now, having met him through a mutual friend, the fashion designer Mazri Ismail. As a 2020 Fashion Design and Textiles graduate from LASALLE College of the Arts, Xun, like many of his peers, didn’t have the opportunity to showcase their collections due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming out of the height of the pandemic in 2021 proved the perfect opportunity for Xun to bring his creations out of storage and exhibit them for the first time at Art Now Gallery.
Since then, those familiar with the ever-growing Singapore art scene might have come across Xun’s name. With a steady stream of exhibitions, Xun has been making quite the buzz. His works have been shown in local independent spaces such as Supper House, and have been represented by Richard Koh Fine Art at international art fairs like the inaugural ART SG.
Amongst our steady stream of meme-sharing, I proposed this interview to find out what he has been up to. Read on to find out more!
For those unfamiliar with you, (though I have my doubts!) could you please introduce yourself?
I am Samuel Xun, I am a visual artist and I won’t be caught dead creating work that doesn’t sparkle.
Your formal background is in fashion design and textiles, so what was your main motivation behind pivoting your practice into one within the fine arts?
Transitioning into an artistic practice came quite naturally as I realised that I wanted to make objects that shared my worldview. I have very simple but concise goals, actually: I want to contribute aesthetically to the world and expand the visual repertoire of queerness.
When we first met back in LASALLE College of the Arts as fellow students, you presented a series titled FEMBOUYANT! as part of your graduation collection. They were these incredibly plush garments that had prominent sculptural qualities to them. How has your visual language changed, now that you have transitioned into ‘harder’ sculptures?
Soft sculptures were a result of years of experimenting with soft materials. Prior to that, I worked in felt, layered textiles and even plastics. Working with sculptural materials and mediums was completely new to me, it was a way for me to challenge myself and keep things interesting within my art-making process. I am continuously exploring and playing with forms, materials and scale, trying to figure out the direction of my next series.
FEMBOUYANT! Series, 2020, Images courtesy of the artist. Mixed medium soft sculptures & satin garments. Dimensions vary. FEMBUOYANT! is Xun’s attempt to work through his personal feelings on “exploring non-normative identity and it’s relationship with the clothed body.”
And what is your current relationship with fashion design?
It’s like we amicably broke up, but we’re still very good friends.
My sensibilities towards material, colour and form come from my formal background in fashion, so I will always be thankful for that.
How do you begin conceptualising your works?
I’m a hybrid artist who plays with both digital and traditional mediums to conceptualise compositions and ideas. The works are amalgamations of things I’m familiar with (be it materials, methods or shapes) and new aspects that I’d like to try. And I figure the rest out along the way.
Growing up, I was exposed to Western minimalism and abstraction. These genres laid the groundwork for the aesthetics I would eventually gravitate towards. In my work, I now take core elements and ideas from these genres and insert my personal narratives, which are based on my experiences as a queer person in Singapore, into them.
I want to open up a conversation centred towards empathy. I believe the approach towards conceptual artworks can be demystified, with simple forms that are accessible to the viewer, and yet loaded with narratives.
Could you run us through your ornamental style and “sugary [colour] palettes”?
It’s a little cliché at this point, but my initial research into queer aesthetics led me to Susan Sontag’s writings on Camp, which helped me to understand the nuances of how we perceive aesthetics.
I believe that textural and surface qualities are often overlooked. The mediums I engage in take everything into consideration: colour, texture, finish, form, environment, and time. These considerations feed into conversations about colour association and gender politics. For example, I believe that understanding the history of how glitter became associated with certain groups of people, can disrupt and dismantle groupthink and challenge our minds for the better.
You mainly use appliqué (ornamental needlework) of ruched ribbon to build your sculptures. Why do you use this specific material?
Using the ribbons came about as a happy accident. I had been collecting, maybe even hoarding, random unconventional materials—everything from gum wrappers to packing ribbons, and even foil—for well over a year.
Funnily enough, the only reason I even ended up experimenting with tinsel ribbons was that I realised how much I had overspent on the initial batch of them. I had purchased them for material experimentations for my graduation collection and didn’t want them to go to waste.
The iterations you see now are a result of constantly rethinking the ribbons’ uses, limitations, and contexts. Ruching the individual strands creates malleability in what would otherwise be a rigid material. The ribbons aren’t some special material that only I can get my hands on, and that’s what I like about them. They are ready-made materials that I have re-contextualised and chosen as vessels to channel my thoughts.
We had a fabulous time reading the titles of your works, such as You’re Spiralling Again and You’re Repeating the Same Mistakes. Where do you draw inspiration for these catchy titles from?
Honestly, some titles are what I wish I could say to people sometimes. But since I’m not down for the dramatic fallout of calling someone out in person, I do it through the works instead.
Titles, for me, are extensions of the artworks’ otherwise open-ended and abstract natures. They reflect my state of mind and also lend a general direction for introspection. They’re like folders dividers that summarise a particular moment in my life and I draw from them for inspiration. For example, while working on You’re Projecting Again, I had an argument with a friend about something that I didn’t feel sorry for, and I used tones of blue because it is their favourite colour.
Thank you for letting us peer inside your mind! I think that’s enough prodding for one day. Are you showing anything at the moment and what exciting plans do you have on the horizon?
Currently, I’m a part of two shows. At Diverse Visions at Richard Koh Fine Art in Singapore, I’m showing work from my series of arterial wall installations, alongside other local and regional artists. At Nature & Now: Asian Art in Focus at Friedrichs Pontone in New York, two of my wood-based sculptures are on view with other works by contemporary Asian artists.
As for upcoming plans, I have a few shows in the works, but I am mainly taking the time to develop and expand on my existing body of work. I will be a part of two group shows this coming June. One will be at Supper House and will be centred around identity. The other will be curated by Dylan Chan at UltraSuperNew Gallery and will centre the queer body and its entanglement with the gaze and its presentations.
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Catch Xun’s works at Diverse Visions at Richard Koh Fine Arts in Singapore, which runs till 22 April 2023, and Nature & Now: Asian Art in Focus at Friedrichs Pontone in New York, which runs till 14 May 2023. Click here to learn more about Xun.
Feature image courtesy of the artist.
