SINGAPORE – If you walk through youth hangout *Scape at Orchard Link, you will come across sprawling wall murals depicting nihilistic robots and cartoon clowns controlling wolves.
These street art pieces are the “final projects” of young artists from *Scape’s pilot Street Art Residency programme for those aged 18 to 34, which ran from October 2024 to January 2025.
Applications were open until August 2024, and *Scape – a non-profit organisation that supports youth, talent and leadership development founded in 2007 – selected residents based on their applications and submitted portfolios.
Five young artists were selected to attend the programme. They were mentored by local street art collective RSCLS (pronounced “rascals”), which organised group discussions, workshops and interactive painting sessions that taught the young aspirants the basics of becoming a street artist.
*Scape also provided a monthly stipend of $300 to each residency artist, and partnered with art supply store Krafers’ Paradise to provide them with supplies like spray cans at a discounted rate.
They were also given the opportunity to work on various individual and collaborative street art projects at *Scape and in the Somerset belt, such as assisting experienced artists in the creation of murals for the Somerset Threads exhibition.
This culminated in a series of socially-driven murals at *Scape that were officially unveiled during comma 2025, a creative arts festival by *Scape’s that ran from Dec 31, 2024 to Jan 26.
The murals are now available for public viewing, with more information available here.
Mr Zane Motalif, *Scape’s programmer for visual arts, said: “Looking ahead, *Scape and RSCLS will continue expanding the residency, whether through new partnerships, curriculum enhancements or opportunities for artists to engage with the wider South-east Asian street art community.
“We are excited to champion emerging talent and contribute to the growth and recognition of street art through this residency.”
TLDR spoke to four of the young artists who participated in the programme to find out more about their experience and their murals: 24-year-olds Soup, JXDE and Zee Fish – who prefer going by their artist names – as well as 19-year-old Goris, whose real name is Glenn Ong.
Don’t Bite The Clowns
(From left) Soup, JXDE and Zee Fish, who worked collectively on the mural Don’t Bite The ClownsST PHOTO: TARYN NG
- Soup is a freelance illustrator, animator and tattoo artist, who holds a degree in animation art from LaSalle College of the Arts.
- JXDE has experience in comics, game design and mural art, and holds a diploma in digital game art and design from Nanyang Polytechnic.
- Zee Fish is a storyteller and illustrator, who holds a design illustration with animation diploma from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.
Q: Tell me about your mural.
Soup: The theme of our work was power dynamics. (Our mural) depicts a fictional society of clowns and wolves that reflects what we thought about the dynamics of the world we live in. The clowns represent the powers that be, who are keeping the wolves down with puppet strings and reins. We wanted to show how those in power often abuse their power by silencing or controlling us.
Q: How long did it take to complete the mural?
JXDE: It took us about two to three weeks to plan it and create a composition, and another two weeks to actually create it. One of the biggest challenges we faced was that each of us had different ideas for what theme we wanted to go with. In the end, we found common ground in what we wanted to do with power dynamics.
Q: What do you hope people will take away from seeing your mural?
JXDE: I hope that they can see themselves in the wolves. (One detail we included) was one of the wolves breaking free of its reins. I hope audiences can see that and feel that it’s possible to break free if we have focus and have the same goals. It’s easier to just stay quiet and not speak up, but it’s important to bring up issues that need to be addressed, especially when those in power don’t want us to address them.
Q: When did you first seriously consider becoming an artist?
Soup: My parents always encouraged me to pursue my creative passion, but I got my start in the professional art space when I picked up tattoo art at 17. My dad is an archaeologist who has a number of archaeology-related tattoos, and he was one of the first people I got to tattoo when I debuted as a tattoo artist. I really enjoy the very personal relationship between the tattoo artist and the client.
Q: How has the Street Art Residency programme benefitted you?
Zee Fish: It’s helped me rediscover my passion for art. I had artist’s block since my second year at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 2022.
I felt like the art school system didn’t suit me because it was rigid and constraining. I signed up for the residency some time after I graduated because I felt like I had nothing to lose, and it provided me the space to make mistakes and try new things without having to worry if the work I create is going to affect my GPA. Beyond just street art, it inspired me to go back to other mediums I’ve enjoyed, like drawing comics.
Q: What advice do you have for aspiring young artists in Singapore?
Zee Fish: (Creating) art is a skill, so it’s important to have patience and be unafraid to ask for advice and experiment. Do what you love and learn.
Doomsday
Mr Glenn Ong, 19, pictured with his mural, titled Doomsday.ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
- Goris, a graduate of the School of the Arts’ International Baccalaureate Career-related Programme Diploma in visual arts, works across a variety of mediums.
Q: Tell me about your mural.
It’s about nihilism. I was fixated on drawing a lot of machinery and robots in my sketchbook when I was creating it, so I included those elements in my mural to represent nihilistic youth. At the same time, I wanted to add a layer of playfulness to it, hence the comic book style and vibrant colours.
Q: What do you hope people take away from your mural?
Whether they absorb the message or not is not up to me, but I think that even if they are just enjoying the artwork without absorbing any of its deeper themes, I’m okay with it. There are many layers in art that people can enjoy, but it’s fine even if they don’t unpack them.
Q: How has the Street Art Residency programme benefitted you?
Beyond the fundamentals of the spray can, the artists from RSCLS also helped me understand more about the behind-the-scenes of being an artist in Singapore. Stuff like creating an invoice, speaking to clients and even dealing with the public and the media are all important aspects of being an artist that I took for granted (before the residency).
Q: What are your aspirations for the future? Has this residency programme made you more inclined to be a street artist?
I haven’t really thought about going to an art university, but becoming a full-time artist is definitely in the cards. As for becoming a street artist, it’s definitely a medium I want to pursue in the future, but I don’t want to pigeonhole myself into just one thing. Whether it’s mural art, paintings or 3D art, I hope that all my art will have the same “Goris flavour”.
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