Shen Jiaqi (b. 1989, Singapore) highlights social issues in urban environments and the subconscious yearning for sanctuary in the city in her paintings and installations. This work explores the contention over space in Singapore, which has been a constant source of strife in the history of the city state. It depicts one of several heritage shopping malls built in the late 1990s, which seem to have been forgotten over time. The hollow rows of shop units are empty due to rising rental costs, while the glass elevator is rendered in colours reminiscent of transience. It evokes the childlike feelings of anticipation and wonder when one stands in such lifts and looks outward, as the city moves away from one’s feet.
Shen studied painting at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore and went on to complete her Visual Art and Drama education at the National Institute of Education, Singapore in 2015. She is now pursuing a Masters of Fine Art at LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. Her latest body of works addresses the city’s cycles of perennial deconstruction and reformation as a reflective metaphor for the urban individual’s state of constant pursuit.