IN CONVERSATION: SHAVONNE WONG

Shavonne Wong illustrated by Maria Chen

DATE

2025/07/04

ARTICLE

Maria Chen

PHOTOS

Courtesy of the Artist

Shavonne Wong: Inside the Bubble

As Singapore marks 60 years of independence, Artist’s Proof: Singapore at 60 (AP60) invites audiences to reflect on the nation’s evolution through the work of over 50 artists, many of whom are shaping dialogues well beyond its borders. Among them is Shavonne Wong, a new media artist whose digital practice has garnered international acclaim, from the Venice Biennale to Times Square. Known for her hyperreal 3D figures and immersive surreal environments, Wong uses technology not just as a tool, but as a lens to examine shifting notions of identity, personhood, and belonging in the digital age.

In this conversation with CNTRFLD.ART, Wong speaks candidly about navigating the art world as a woman, artist, and member of the Singaporean diaspora. She reflects on the tensions of growing up in a city built for safety and success, the liberating uncertainty of her new base in Bangkok, and the discomfort that can spark powerful art. We also discuss her new video work for AP60, The Bubble We Call Home—a looping meditation on comfort, constraint, and the paradox of a life lived within soft borders.

What follows is a reflection not only on Wong’s artistic journey, but also on the broader role of digital art in questioning the future—and the personal cost of always keeping pace with it.

CREDITS

All works courtesy of the artist

“Singapore is a place built for safety, stability and success, but that comfort can come at the cost of expression.”— Shavonne Wong

CNTRFLD. As a Singaporean artist working internationally, how has your experience of diaspora shaped the way you see yourself—and the way you create? How have your cross-cultural experiences informed your practice and your sense of connection to home?

SW. I’ve only been away from Singapore for a little over a year, so I wouldn’t say it’s had enough time to reshape my practice or sense of connection to home in any deep lasting way yet, but distance does create clarity! Being away made me appreciate how far Singapore has come in just 60 years. It’s incredibly impressive, but I also became more aware of the side effects. With the rapid growth came pressure and there’s a kind of high level of anxiety nationally. There’s a kind of rigidity to life there, a sense that there’s one right path, and if you don’t fit into that, it can feel suffocating. Singapore is a place built for safety, stability and success, but that comfort can come at the cost of expression.

CNTRFLD. Your work often explores identity and personhood in digital spaces. How has your Singaporean heritage influenced your approach to these themes within a global art context? Do you find that your roots shape the kinds of questions you ask through your art?

SW. For a long time, I could not figure out how to bring my Singaporean identity into my art. We don't have centuries of iconography to pull from, and leaning too hard into Chinese roots felt more like referencing China than Singapore. But I’ve come to appreciate that Singapore itself is a place deeply focused on the future, and that has absolutely shaped how I think. I approach technology with both curiosity and pragmatism.

CNTRFLD. Where have you chosen to base yourself creatively, and what drew you to that place? How has your current environment contributed to your evolution as both an artist and thinker?

SW. I’m currently based in Bangkok. After living my whole life in Singapore, I wanted something different, but not so drastically different that it would be a shock to the system. Bangkok still has city energy but also has its chaos and unpredictability. Things aren’t so tightly controlled here, and the people are so warm and kind. The contemporary art scene is also on the rise, and I feel lucky to be here while it's still unfolding.

CNTRFLD. As a woman navigating both the traditional and digital art worlds—often male-dominated spaces—what are some of the challenges you’ve faced, and how have you navigated them? Were there pivotal moments that shaped your perspective on gender, equity, or representation in your field?

SW. I think what’s tricky is that even when there’s an effort to lift women up, it sometimes only places them into a different kind of confinement. We’re invited to women-only panels, women-centric awards. It's meant to help, and sometimes it does, but it can also reinforce the very separateness we’re trying to dissolve. I’ve come to accept that change is slow. Progress isn’t linear, and systems take time to evolve.

CNTRFLD. Could you share a bit about your childhood and early upbringing in Singapore? Were there moments, memories, or influences growing up that you now see as formative to your journey as an artist?

SW. My childhood was pretty typical. It was very Singaporean, which is safe, structured, very rule abiding. My parents were strict, maybe overly so, with curfews and all that. But the one thing that stood out was how supportive they were when it came to creative pursuits, which isn’t the norm in most Asian households. That support made a huge difference. When I decided to pursue fashion photography (something I had no formal training in) they didn’t stop me. And because I knew I had a roof over my head and food at home, I had the freedom to really experiment and fail without fear. That early safety net let me take risks, and I think that trained me to be comfortable with making big decisions, even now, whether it’s pivoting my practice or diving into something completely new when it makes sense.

CNTRFLD. You began your career in fashion and advertising photography before transitioning into new media art. What inspired that shift? How do you see these two phases of your practice speaking to and informing one another?

SW. The shift wasn’t exactly planned; it was more like a response to circumstance. When COVID hit, all my fashion photography work came to a stop. Since I couldn’t photograph real people anymore, so I decided to pick up 3D and make my own. The goal was to be able to offer something new to future clients. When I discovered NFTs, for the first time I had a space to make work for myself, not for a brief, and I was taking on the role of an artist. My background in fashion photography gave me an eye for visuals, for mood, for polish, but now I’m trying to go deeper, asking myself what I actually want to say and figuring out what I actually care about.

CNTRFLD. Your presentation for Artist’s Proof: Singapore at 60 (AP60) at Artspace is part of a landmark exhibition reflecting on the nation’s identity at 60. Could you tell us more about the work you’re showcasing and the ideas behind it? What does this contribution mean to you within the context of Singapore’s 60th anniversary?

SW. The piece I created for AP60 is called The Bubble We Call Home. It’s a video installation exploring the paradox of growing up in a place that offers safety but also limits. The figure sits in a slowly shrinking bubble, an image drawn from wombs, from surveillance, from comfort. Over six minutes, the space gets tighter until she curls into a foetal position, and then it loops back. To me, that’s what life in Singapore can feel like, predictable, safe, but at times uncomfortably small.

CNTRFLD. Your work frequently features hyperreal virtual figures set in surreal digital environments. How do these imagined worlds allow you to explore real questions of identity, humanity, and representation—particularly as a Southeast Asian artist in the digital age?

SW. I find that the less realistic my environments are, the more honest they become. When I remove the rules of the real world, I can speak more freely about what it feels like to be human.

CNTRFLD. What does community mean to you—as a co-founder of NFT Asia and member of BLOOM?

How important is it for artists today to find (or build) creative communities across geographies and disciplines, and what role do these communities play in amplifying the visibility of Asian and women artists in digital spaces?

SW. Being an artist can be lonely, and no one really teaches you how to deal with that. You need people who will be honest with you, push you, remind you you're not crazy for caring this much.
Waiting around for support to magically appear doesn’t work though so if you don't have it, you have to either go find it or build it yourself.

CNTRFLD. Are there any upcoming projects or collaborations—either in Singapore or abroad—that you’re especially excited about? How do these build upon or depart from the work you’ve done so far?

SW. Right now, I’m working on (@meetevahere) Meet Eva Here, a social experiment disguised as an AI companion. It asks uncomfortable questions about love, memory, and dependency on tech, topics that feel closer than we think. It’s one of the most personal things I’ve made. Watching people interact with Eva has been strange and beautiful. It’s making people reflect and it’s probably the most layered project I’ve worked on so far.

CNTRFLD. You’ve already had an extraordinary trajectory—from the Venice Biennale to Times Square. Looking ahead, what projects or directions are you most excited about? How do you see your future practice navigating the intersection of art, ethics, and emerging technologies?

SW. What I’ve learned in the past few years is that being an artist requires more of you the longer you do it. It asks you to keep evolving, to keep paying attention. To be an artist now also means thinking about ethics, systems, technology, and how all those things shape our future. I don’t have a fixed direction, but I want to keep making work that asks uncomfortable questions and also holds space for people to sit with them.

CNTRFLD. Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring Singaporean or Asian artists entering today’s global and digital art world—particularly those exploring new media or grappling with themes of cultural hybridity?

SW. If you feel like you don’t belong, good. That discomfort means you’re not just copying what’s already out there. Don’t worry about fitting into a label or working in one medium, use whatever tools that get your ideas across.

CREDITS

About the artist.

Shavonne Wong (b. 1990, Singapore) is a new media artist working at the intersection of 3D technology, AI, and digital storytelling. With a background in fashion and advertising photography, her practice centres on hyperreal virtual figures placed in surreal, often otherworldly environments to examine evolving notions of identity, personhood, and representation in the digital age.

Recognised on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list in 2020, Wong’s work has been exhibited internationally, including at the 59th Venice Biennale, Art Dubai, SEA Focus (Singapore), the ArtScience Museum, and on iconic screens in New York’s Times Square and Tokyo’s Shibuya Crossing. Her 2021 project Love is Love explored themes of intimacy and identity in generative digital art, drawing attention from collectors including Idris Elba.

More recently, her work has taken a philosophical turn, reflecting on the human condition within increasingly technologised environments. Wong is also a co-founder of NFT Asia, a community platform for Asian artists in the NFT space, and a member of the artist collective BLOOM.

Artist’s Proof: Singapore at 60 is a landmark exhibition and deeply personal tribute to Singapore’s founding leaders, told not through speeches or textbooks, but through art. Over the past decade, private collector Mr Chong Huai Seng has gathered artworks capturing Singapore’s transformation, from nostalgic street scenes to bold contemporary takes on identity and leadership.

In celebration of Singapore’s 60th birthday, this ambitious exhibition features over 90 works by more than 50 artists, offering a fresh perspective of the Singapore story through the creative expressions of local artists from different generations. Featuring 11 new commissions by local artists and 1 brand new music piece, the exhibition underscores Chong’s passion in supporting young artists, seeking to inspire audiences to embrace local contemporary artists and invest in the growing potential of the future of Singapore’s arts through art collecting and patronage.

Chong’s love letter to Singapore traces its journey from a struggling young nation to a global city. Scenes of Singapore’s evolving cityscape unfold through paintings and photographs, while works inspired by Lee Kuan Yew and the founding fathers examine their legacy and impact on nation-building. The exhibition also looks inward, questioning the relationship between artists, the state, and its people. Presented by The Culture Story and produced by Family Office For Art, Artist’s Proof: Singapore at 60 invites audiences of all ages and backgrounds to experience Singapore through the eyes of artists.

13 July – 17 August 2025

Artspace@Helutrans, Gallery 1, 2 and 3

Tanjong Pagar Distripark, #01-05, 39 Keppel Road, Singapore 089065 (next to Singapore Art Museum)

Shavonne Wong: Inside the Bubble

“Singapore is a place built for safety, stability and success, but that comfort can come at the cost of expression.”— Shavonne Wong

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