Imagine being enveloped by fuzzy textiles, electrifying hues of crimson, and formidable, reflective photographs. That is what you can expect when walking through What Doesn’t Kill You: Recent Works by Hélène Le Chatelier and Sunaina Bhalla, an ongoing exhibition held at Art Outreach Singapore’s HEARTH Art Space in conjunction with International Women’s Day. Placing these two Singapore-based artists’ works in illuminating conversation for the first time, the exhibition explores themes of strength, courage, resilience, and womanhood.
From Bhalla’s masterful textile paintings to Le Chatelier’s immersive photographs, the works on show draw from the artists’ own personal experiences. Daringly investigating the bodily experiences of pain and healing, they are a visual testament to the endless tenacity of these women. We as viewers bear witness as Bhalla and Le Chatelier tell their stories of trauma and resilience, inviting us to listen and empathise.
What Doesn’t Kill You is the debut exhibition project of Art Linguistics, a recently established art advisory, as part of their “Faceted Women in the Arts” initiative. Founded by art historian Dr. Michelle Lim and brand consultant and writer Vernice Chua, the initiative aims to carve out space for women in the arts to share their perspectives and generate discourse.
In this conversation I had with Dr. Michelle Lim, she delves into the exhibition’s curatorial direction, her relationship with the artists, the work of Art Linguistics, and her hopes for women in our local art scene.
I find the title of the exhibition, What Doesn’t Kill You, fascinating and catchy. How did you conceptualise the curatorial direction and how does the title resonate?
Hélène and I have been talking for a while about doing a project together, and I got to know Sunaina late last year. So this opportunity to exhibit at Hearth was perfect as few spaces support artists who are not Singaporean, making it quite tricky to find a good space. Hence, I started thinking about their works, and how they would come together for a project.
The original title of the project was Soft and Strong. [These were] the qualities that came together in the artists’ works, but when given this opportunity to exhibit for International Women’s Day, it made a lot of sense to reflect further on the nature of both artists’ practices. Sunaina is a breast cancer survivor and she has also spent years looking after her daughter with diabetes. Similarly, Hélène’s works have always been deeply engaged with trauma, especially unseen trauma. Furthermore, they are relatively not well-known to Singaporean audiences despite being in Singapore for years and exhibiting internationally. So, the title came about when thinking about resilience and strength in their overall practices.
Speaking of their artistic practices, what about their works speaks to you?
For me, it is about the artist. You develop a relationship with them, click with them, and, subsequently, you are drawn to the works. That was what happened in this case. Sometimes, it is the other way around: you never get to meet the artist but are drawn into a work that resonates with you.
Generally, I think women’s works are subtle; they might not be as bombastic, especially in this era when everyone wants to be on social media. It is about the layers that come about when talking to the artist, and, in conversation with them, you also see the patience in their works.
Specifically, what I find very interesting about the works is the tension beneath the beauty. The works are undeniably beautiful. But, especially when installing a show, you become more aware of the nuances of the works, and it becomes important to ensure a certain balance in how we show the works.
When I first walked into the exhibition, I was captivated by the materiality of the works. For example, Sunaina’s textile paintings are very intricate and Hélène’s photographs have a rather hazy appearance. When speaking about their oeuvres, the artists mentioned that textures are important to them because they relate texture to the making and remembering of memories. How did you reflect memory in your curation?
There is a sense of transience in the exhibition. It was the feeling I got when thinking about the experiences the artists are reflecting. They are trying to hold onto certain memories, to capture a disappearing moment.
The exhibition experience will be different for everybody and at [different] moments of encounter. But this transience, this movement, is seen in all their works. For example, in Sunaina’s works, the threads are floating but they are also frozen. Hence, I will say that movement, time, and transience are the key factors in how I think about memory in their works and the exhibition.
Beyond the artistic practices of the two artists, how do the themes of strength, courage, and resilience extend to your curatorial and research practices?
Well, that is a big question, right?
These qualities apply to everyone, not just women. The question of resilience is important, especially for the younger generation. The world is getting more stressful.
Many of the spaces I have worked in still tend to be male-dominated. Sure, we do see a lot of women in the arts, but we also have to ask ourselves: how about those in positions of power? And if you have a lot of women in positions of power, what are the issues being affected? What is being prioritised? It is easy to pay attention to diversity, but do we really understand what it means?
Coming back to my practice, I have been thinking about a space for research, academia, and other art activities. Art Linguistics started in late 2023 when I started thinking about how I could do something outside of what I was already doing. I had paused my curatorial practice for a while. I was sitting on advisory boards, so I was still deeply involved in the curatorial process, but I was not finding the right platform to do what I was interested in, to reach the audience that I wanted to reach. I wanted to create something, but I did not know who I was talking to — and when you do not know who you are talking to, you do not know what you want to talk about. So, finding the right audience was important to me.
With Art Linguistics, we are working on these questions. We are focused on how to make working in the arts more viable and sustainable.
Where do you position Art Linguistics in the local art scene?
We want to work with philanthropists and collectors to think about how they can make an impact through their collections, for projects they believe in. It is not just about maximising monetary value, but — this is where my role as an art historian comes in — thinking about under-researched works. We ideate on which museums these works should go to and where they should be exhibited. We are thinking long-term, for a sustainable cultural legacy that extends beyond the benefit of philanthropists and collectors [to] society.
Tell me more about the “Faceted Women in the Arts” initiative.
We started this initiative this year, with this exhibition being the first project. Finding space for women in the arts is important to my founding partner Vernice and me since we are women in the arts too. With Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs being killed off in the United States, our local operations are also affected and are rethinking how they should support diversity. For us, strategically, it was the question of whether we wanted to go toward where the mainstream is heading or to continue expanding on diversity.
So, we are quite lucky to be doing this and are generously sponsored by BV Initiatives, FUJIFILM, the National Arts Council Tote Board Arts Fund, and the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore. The central idea is to work with young curators, artists, and creatives. It does not have to always be about women. It can be women curators, dealing with women artists, and more. We want to create a space for these projects to continue. We hope this exhibition will get the spotlight it deserves so we can garner more collaborators in the future. We want to keep the initiative going and work on different kinds of projects that are important to women.
In the case of this exhibition, [a portion of the] proceeds from Sunaina’s works will go to the Breast Cancer Foundation, and Hélène’s will go to PAVE, which helps children and families dealing with domestic and sexual abuse. These causes speak to the artists’ interests while simultaneously supporting our local agencies.
What can we look forward to under “Faceted Women in the Arts”?
This initiative will be going on for five years and will take place every year. We are looking for our next project and would love to hear from more people — curators, artists, and anyone interested — with their proposals.
Is there anything you would like to say to fellow women in the arts, in light of International Women’s Day?
What doesn’t kill you — makes you stronger.
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What Doesn’t Kill You: Recent Works by Hélène Le Chatelier and Sunaina Bhalla runs at Art Outreach Singapore till 16 March 2025, with public programmes on 12 and 16 March. Find out more at artoutreachsingapore.org, and follow @art.linguistics on Instagram for updates.
Header image: From Hélène Le Chatelier’s series La Disparition. Image by Verson Ong.
