Delicate balance of painting and sculpture

THERE are artists who prefer to work alone, and then there are those who find inspiration working with other artists. Singapore-based Australian artist Belinda Fox belongs to the latter group, and her latest collaboration with Jason Lim is a matchmade pairing of painting and ceramics.

For Lim, collaborations are rare in his ceramics creations as he sees that process as one that is sacred and private. "I am beginning to open my door a little to people whom I consider to have something to share," he explains. This is the artists' second collaboration after a sold-out show at the Sydney Contemporary Art Fair in September. Fox, 40, came up with the theme and idea, Balancing the World. Both artists discussed the concept where their works will take on a series of precarious forms like balancing acts.

""Jason responds to my work, and this time, I would also respond to his with the painting I do on his ceramics as well as on the wall after the installation is completed," explains Fox about the collaboration.

Balancing the World is inspired by her time in Singapore and travels to Vietnam and Myanmar, focused on the loss of tradition and the exploitation of the natural environment in the name of human progress. In today's world, humanity swings between the amazing and the awful, and hope and doubt.

"There are environmental pressures, refugees, terrorism... ," lists Fox. "So when you're trying to be a 'global' and 'good' human being in everyday life, it's like walking this tightrope," she explains.

She's also incorporated Singapore-relevant topics for her painting, such as native birds, and the haze issue, while using Chinese ink, a medium she loves. For Lim, this series is different from his usual abstract creations in terms of scale and use of glazes and firing techniques . "I had created wider surfaces for Belinda to make bolder drawings and for me to apply and experiment with a different range of glazes."

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Fox came to Singapore just over three years ago after her husband was posted here for work, and she saw it as an amazing opportunity for her as an artist. "With the exposure and inspiration, I've gained so much from being here," she adds.

Trained as a printmaker, Fox had previously collaborated with an Australian ceramicist, but had been keen to work with a Singapore artist, when she discovered Lim's work and approached him. "I was quite surprised he said yes, to be frank, but we do have a very strong link in our ideas and aesthetics," she says. Adds Lim: "I'd like to believe that our input into the works balances and complements one another."

Collaborations like these are incredibly challenging and interesting, and the artists develop great trust in each other, she explains. "It becomes a very intimate experience but superchallenging as every artist has different ideas and ways of working," Fox says, adding that she and Lim worked through their differences in creative and constructive ways to create a strong body of work.

A collaboration signals that the artists are willing to reach out beyond their own worlds, Fox feels. "It's not just about me but what another artist has brought to the table."

Fox has done 10 paintings, and what's new is that she will paint on the walls as well after Lim has installed his ceramics. Using her signature web motif, the drawings will tie the works together so the entire space becomes an installation. Besides the individual paintings for sale, Lim's ceramics will be sold in collections rather than individual pieces.

Flush from the success of the Sydney show, Fox is quite confident going into this show, which is being held during one of the most important periods of Singapore's art calendar as it's in conjunction with Art Stage Singapore. "The launching pad was Sydney, so now I feel that our works will make more of a statement," she concludes.

Balancing the World runs from Jan 15 to Feb 14, 2016, at Chan Hampe Galleries, located at Raffles Hotel Arcade #01-21, 328 North Bridge Road. The exhibition is from Tuesday to Sunday, 11am-7pm. Admission is free. For enquiries, please call 6338-1962