What makes some of these local or global creatives tick? In this weekly column, artist Nicholas Ong (@neekruz) shares his favourite things.
Photo credit Nicholas Ong
1. Community: Here is a photo of me with a few others from #Teamnike. I love community and I love meeting and getting to build relationships with other creatives and inspiring individuals. I think they ignite a fire in me to create more and to make new experiences.
2. Collaborations: On a similar tangent, I feel that collaboration is at the heart of what I do. Here is a photo with Malaysian artist Anwar Suhaimi, we collaborated together on an installation in 2019. I remember our time together fondly and I still think a lot about the work we did together. Inspiring fella.
3. Conversations: Conversations, it’s how we know more about others and ourselves. Talking and getting to know other people’s perspectives is a really important source of inspiration for me. This is a photo of myself with Caryn and Sam for Yavuz Gallery when they visited my studio, they always share thoughts with me about my work and I treasure our relationship very much.
4. Spaces: This is a photo from Pasir Panjang power station taken in 2022 at an event. I have been to Pasir Panjang power station quite a few times and have always enjoyed how the space has changed and evolved. I think what really inspires me is about how space has been used and changed to facilitate new experiences. Cheers to perspective!
5. Friends: Here is a photo of my friend Christopher and I. This was taken in 2020 when the pandemic was at the forefront of our conversations and minds, a time when things seemed bleak and uncertain. Our friendship always reminds me to see the fun in things.
6. Pets: I love pets, I don’t have any of my own unfortunately. But it doesn’t mean I can’t love the ones that the people around me have! There’s so much we can learn from them, and I love thinking about how they look at the world.
7. Movies: I love movies, this particular scene is from the movie “Her” by Spike Jonez. Storytelling is a massive part of our history and films have a special way of evoking emotional responses in me, the textural qualities of cinematic tableaux is always something that will inspire me and the way I look at the world.
8. Technology: This painting here is a painting I made with DALL-E. Technology is something that is constantly evolving and AI is no exception, its quite inspiring I think, to ponder the idea that artistry is something that exists beyond the hands, its the perspectives held by us as humans but also the technology that we could integrate into our lives.
The prompt for this painting had to do with an argument between dreams and destiny while delirium watches.
9. Relationships: This is a photo of some friends and me in Bali. The relationships I form with people are something that I hold close to me, they leave an indelible mark on our lives and contribute to the way we see the world. While they may come and go, they will always be special.
10. My mother: This is Mom. Mother figures are a different breed, and my mother is no exception. Don’t forget to remind your mother figures in life that they are special. She stole this shirt from my wardrobe and wore it back to front btw.
Once you’re done with Nicholas Ong’s obsessions, click here to catch up with our August 2022 issue!