Francis NG

Multi-disciplinary in approach, Francis Ng is an artist who constantly strives to stretch the potential in his art and engage in an intellectual dialog with his audiences.  In his creative explorations, his strong intellectual framework can manifest in conceptual works that are installation and photography based; or in a combination media that demonstrates his artistic repertoire in relation to contemporary issues surrounding art-making.  Adept at harnessing the expressive space offered by these different mediums, he has created platforms on which he invites audience to respond to a myriad of spatial and identity concepts in a rapidly changing urban environment.

In photography, Francis has presented a series of unforgettable images that capture the essence of change and the relationship between the individual and his surroundings.  Francis was the winner of both the Juror’s Choice and the Grand Prize in the 2001/2002 Philip Morris Group of Companies ASEAN Art Awards, the only Singaporean and first photographer to win the Grand Prize.  His work offered the sublime and skillful, illustrating his talent in composition, image making through technology and sensitivity for how objects relate in space and the environment.  The purity of his work is not only found in its content, but also his ability to challenge our ideas with complex notions of the ambivalent and the qualitative experience that distills itself in our own struggle to visualize and live contemporary society and contemporary lives.  He also went on to clinch the 1st Prize in the 23rd UOB Painting of the Year Competition (Photography Category) in 2004.

In three-dimensional work, Francis first presented a massive and physically haunting installation piece titled Delocating Margins in 2001, offering the Singapore public a totally visceral experience of being immersed in a work of art.  Thereafter, Francis continued to exhibit thought-provoking installation works such as Re:place at the President’s Young Talent Exhibition and represented Singapore with his photographic installation titled Displaced at the 50th Biennale di Venezia in 2003.  In the same year, he received the President’s Young Talent Award and the 2002/2003 JCCI Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Singapore Arts Award.  In 2004, he continued to present his works at a number of international platforms such as the Gwangju Biennale.  Also in 2004, he took his three-dimensional works out of the gallery by producing the immensely popular public sculpture I WAS HERE, currently exhibiting at the National University of Singapore.

In 2006, Francis was the recipient of the National Arts Council’s Young Artist Award. In 2007, his works were featured in the prestigious ZKM Museum in Karlsruhe, Germany.  Francis is one of only three Singapore artists invited to participate in the inaugural Showcase Singapore 2008.

For additional information about this artist, visit Mutual Art