“Print has renewed relevance today. As technology transforms how we create and consume images, artists are increasingly drawn to materiality, craftsmanship and the tactile experience of making.”—Emi Eu

“Identity isn't fixed. It changes as we encounter new cultures, new languages and new ways of seeing.”—Udomsak Krisanamis

CNTRFLD. Art Basel often represents a moment of reflection as much as presentation. Standing here with this new body of work, what does this particular Art Basel presentation mean to each of you, and what conversations are you hoping it sparks?

EE. Art Basel in Basel is the most important art fair for the international contemporary art world. One main reason for this is because the fair is able to bring together the best galleries from all corners of the world with the highest quality works to be presented over one full week. And hence, the fair attracts not only important institutions/directors and curators alike but also international collectors looking for top quality works. STPI Gallery has been exhibiting in this fair – through a rigorous selection process, since 2013 as one of the very few galleries from SEA. And hence, the opportunity to present a solo project in this highly competitive fair (300 galleries from around the world exhibit here) is an excellent platform to have conversations with those from this part of the world about what print and paper can become through collaboration and also to showcase artists from SEA.

Every residency is a process of experimentation. Artists arrive with ideas, but it's through working closely with our master printers and papermakers that those ideas evolve in unexpected ways.

Udomsak's new body of work is a testament to that process. Developed during his residency at STPI in collaboration with our workshop team, the works reimagine the possibilities of print and paper while extending his longstanding exploration of mass media, popular culture and image circulation.

UK. For me, this presentation is less about arriving at a conclusion than sharing a point in an ongoing journey. Every new body of work grows out of experiences accumulated over many years, but working with STPI opened up materials and processes that I couldn't have explored in my own studio.

I've always been interested in how familiar images and everyday references continue to stay with us over time. In these new works, those fragments—from popular culture to music and commercial imagery—are transformed through printmaking and papermaking into something less fixed and more open. I hope people spend time looking, discovering details, and finding their own connections rather than searching for a single narrative.

CNTRFLD. Udomsak, your practice has long explored the ways images, information and everyday objects circulate through contemporary life. Looking back across works from your early newspaper-based collages to the pieces presented with STPI today, what feels like the thread that has remained constant throughout your career?

UK. The materials have changed, and the scale has changed, but my curiosity has remained much the same. I've always been interested in how ordinary things—newspapers, packaging, advertisements, everyday objects—can be transformed into something unexpected.

When I first began using newspapers, they were practical because they helped me learn English, but they also became a visual system. Over time that system evolved into grids, layers and patterns that are less about language itself than about memory, perception and the way information surrounds us.

CNTRFLD. We'd love to go back to the beginning. Could each of you share something about your childhood or upbringing that, looking back now, clearly shaped the path you've taken in the arts? Was there a particular moment, person or experience that opened that door?

EE.  I grew up across several countries—South Korea, the United States and later Europe—before eventually settling in Singapore. Looking back, those experiences taught me to see the world through different cultural lenses and gave me a deep curiosity about how art connects people across borders.

A major influence was my mother who is a textile historian and embroiderer. Being surrounded by textiles, craftsmanship and material culture from an early age gave me an appreciation for making and for the value of artistic traditions.

Although I studied business, my first real introduction to the museum world came through a high school summer internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It wasn't until I worked at a family friend’s gallery in Venice, however, that I realised I wanted to dedicate my career to contemporary art. That experience opened my eyes to the possibilities of working closely with artists and helping create platforms where their ideas could develop.

UK. I grew up in Bangkok, and drawing was simply something I enjoyed from an early age. Later, studying at Chulalongkorn University gave me a strong artistic foundation, but moving to Chicago in the early 1990s changed my perspective completely.

Suddenly I was in a new culture, surrounded by contemporary art from around the world. Everything felt unfamiliar, and that experience taught me to observe more closely. Looking back, I think those early years of adapting to a different place were just as important as my formal education.

Rather than one defining moment, my practice has developed through many small discoveries—meeting artists, travelling, and remaining open to materials and ideas that appear unexpectedly.

CNTRFLD. Udomsak, you've spoken about teaching yourself English through newspapers after moving to the United States, a process that ultimately influenced the visual language of your work. How did that experience of navigating a new culture shape not only your artistic practice, but your understanding of identity and belonging?

UK. When I first arrived in the United States, I didn't speak much English. Every day I read newspapers and crossed out the words I understood, leaving behind the ones I didn't know yet. At first, it was simply a way to learn the language. Eventually I realised those pages had become drawings. The grids, circles and erased words created a visual language that reflected the experience of navigating an unfamiliar place.

That process taught me that identity isn't fixed. It changes as we encounter new cultures, new languages and new ways of seeing. My work has always been less about illustrating those experiences than allowing traces of them to remain within the surface of the artwork.

CNTRFLD. Both of you have lived and worked across different cities, countries and cultural contexts. How has movement—whether geographical, cultural or professional—shaped your sense of self? And do you think ideas of identity become more visible when viewed through a diasporic or international lens?

EE.  Living and working across different countries has reinforced for me the importance of cultural exchange and collaboration. Rather than thinking in terms of borders, I've always been interested in how ideas move between people, places and traditions.

That's very much how we approach at STPI. Artists come from different parts of the world, bringing their own histories and practices, and every residency becomes a dialogue with our workshop team. A recent example is Eko Nugroho's upcoming exhibition in August, STRANGE MONSTER VIEW, which emerged from his residency at STPI. Drawing on his observations of Singapore and developed through close collaboration with our printers and papermakers, the project explores themes of identity, belonging and contemporary life through the lens of both personal and shared experience.

These exchanges continually remind me that while every artist's work is rooted in a particular context, meaningful conversations often happen through shared curiosity and experimentation.