Welcome to the sixth feature of our USneakPeek series, where you can get a glimpse into the diverse lives of our NTU-USPians! This time, we feature Woong Soak Teng, an Art, Design and Media (ADM) alumni who is making a name in the field of Photography and Digital Imaging. She has won accolades including the Steidl Book Award Asia 8 and Kwek Leng Joo Prize of Excellence in Photography 2018, and her works have been showcased internationally.
Woong Soak Teng, Artist specialising in Photography and Digital Imaging & NTU-USP Alumni
Interview By: Anna Cheang, Bryan Chua
Written By: Amanda Chang, Law Jia Ying
Photo by: Niki Koh
“Even up till now as I’m trying to enter this profession, most people around me don’t see what I’m doing as a job. That is a problem because if you don’t see being an artist as a proper job like a banker, teacher, or lawyer, artists cannot survive and live with their art. They will have to end up doing other things just to fit into others’ expectations.”
How did you discover your passion for digital imaging and photography?
I’ve always enjoyed art for as long as I can remember. My favourite class in primary school was art, and I studied art as a subject from secondary school until JC when I was in the art elective programme. Back then, I did a lot of paintings and a bit of video and installations, but never really explored photography.
When I first entered ADM, I thought that I would go into visual communication. However, in my first semester, they had an end-of-semester show where the seniors put up their typography posters. I looked at it and wondered whether I could do it for the next three years — the answer was a clear no. Instead, I realised that I was much more interested in flipping through the photo books that the photography department was showing. I felt that the photography department’s stronger inclination towards the fine arts was something closer to what I wanted to do. So I enrolled and did my first photography project, and that’s how I started.
The first piece we see on your website (https://woongsoakteng.com/projects) is “The Way My Mother Speaks”. Was that your first ever project?
No, that was my final project for my A Levels. My first photography project was ‘Ways To Tie Trees’. It was back in Year 2, when I first started printing images and shooting film photography, just meddling around in the darkroom. I did it for a class assignment, so I never expected it to go far. I’m surprised and thankful that it’s still moving today.
Images from ‘Ways To Tie Trees’, from https://woongsoakteng.com/ways-to-tie-trees.
The images were compiled into a photobook published by Steidl.
On your website, you mentioned that your explorations are primarily concerned with the “intrinsic human need for control against natural processes and the relationship between man-made and natural elements existing in urban social phenomena”. Is there a particular reason for such a schema?
I grew up in Singapore, which is a very controlled environment. I think the way Singapore has been built has inevitably shaped the people who are living here. I don’t know what Singapore used to be like, and I cannot claim to understand what it feels like to be in an environment with more nature. But the more I travel and see other parts of the world, the more I feel that we have ‘controlled’ a little bit too much. I’m starting to think about who I am, who we are, and how this is shaped by the environment. We are always trying to control the environment, when at the same time, the environment is also controlling us. It’s very cyclical because this environment that controls us is still technically controlled by a “person” – the government. These things both troubled and intrigued me as an individual.
In your art, have you ever made clear your stance on certain issues that speak to you, or do you just leave viewers to their own interpretation?
No, I have not made a stand. Personally, I like my art to be open to interpretation. Because if you’re having a conversation and you start off with “no, this is how it should be”, no one is going to have a conversation with you. So, to me, the art needs to speak with a universal language to allow very different people with varied ideas to come together and have their piece. They can agree or disagree with what they see, but they would still walk away with their own viewpoints, or a modified version of these viewpoints.
So art to you is primarily used to spark conversations instead of conveying a particular message?
To me, art has a very flexible meaning. And it’s super multi-faceted which is why I love it so much. For me, I have a certain way of making art that achieves a certain effect. That being said, it doesn’t mean that I don’t like artworks that hold a very strong viewpoint. In a way, it’s very open.
What are your thoughts about the local art scene?
I believe that Singapore’s art scene is growing, but from the top-down perspective, it’s getting a little jaded. We have main institutions such as the National Arts Council and National Gallery which are driving the ecosystem. However, they are the ones controlling the national narrative; selecting artists or works in the large venues.
Nonetheless, because of this formal ecosystem, alternative bottom-up initiatives are starting to grow in Singapore. This year, there have been many ground-up initiatives by local artists who put up their works in places outside of the white cube, such as their homes, shophouses, temporary spaces, transient spaces and public spaces. And it’s very interesting because most of these initiatives are either self-funded or crowd-funded, and do not last for a particularly long period. But you can see that people really step up to talk about topics that are less discussed in formal institutions. They are also doing things more organically, focusing on the process and personal messages instead of topics such as money, reputation and tourism.
While the art scene in Singapore is promising, we need to work around limitations such as censorship, the lack of funding and proper perception of seeing art as a career. Even now as I’m trying to enter this profession, most people around me don’t see what I’m doing as a job. Apart from the hardware, we also need the attitude to start maturing.
Would you say that the lack of support for your chosen profession was one of the biggest challenges you have faced? Has that bothered you or affected your decision?
It did not affect my decision, but for sure, it has bothered me more than a little bit. Even right now, my mum’s friends say things like: “You’re not working today?”. My mum and I struggle to explain that I don’t work the way most people work, and I may not know when my projects can make me money, but I am working. There were also my own thoughts. One thing I found difficult was the idea of a career as an artist. I’ve always been quite adverse to commercial art. Personally, attaching a price tag to my art piece feels like I’m compromising the reason why I became an artist. But as I transitioned from a student to an adult, I realised that if this is what I find meaning in and want to pursue, I’ll have to make it a career, so that it will be sustainable. I’m working on finding the balance between intention and continuation. Perhaps it’s got a bit to do with the ecosystem as well. In places like London or New York, a lot of creatives grow up knowing who to talk to, how to network, how to approach people. It’s a very natural progression. But here, a lot of young creatives come out not knowing what to do with their art, or how to start a living with it.
How did you balance school work in ADM and your projects outside school?
I’m a bit of a workaholic. When I was balancing ADM and NTU-USP, as well as other things outside of school, I was running everywhere. I would spend my nights in ADM till 3 or 4am, go back to hall, and wake up for a 9am class. For school, it was still easier because we have semesters and breaks — the system was already telling me when to be busy and when to rest. But after I graduated, it was more ambiguous. I realised that I have to decide for myself now when I want to be busy and when I want to take breaks. Actually, there’s a lot to learn after you graduate. It’s not that terrifying, in fact it’s quite exciting and you will end up learning a lot more about yourself.
Could you tell us a bit about the project you are working on now? Or is it confidential?
It’s not a secret, it’s a question mark. I know the starting point but I don’t know where it will bring me. The starting point is scoliosis, a condition that I had growing up. I had that and I went through an operation when I was 13, so right now I have 16 titanium screws in my spine. I realised that it’s not so different from how the trees are being tied in the project that I was working on. Maybe that visual similarity drew me in. Also, the thing about scoliosis is that generally people don’t see it or talk about it, because it’s at the back and hidden. I’ve never properly addressed this part of my life, and I noticed that a lot of people around me don’t know what scoliosis is, unless they have close friends who suffered from it. Even then, you go through treatments without understanding what it really is, or what kind of effects it has on you, because it happens at such a young age. So it happened and I don’t know how it impacted me, but I know for sure that it has changed and shaped me to be who I am now. And that’s what I’m working on now.
Have you thought about how you will present this?
No, not yet. It’s too far of a stretch to think about that. Sometimes, I will have these moments where I will see something in my mind but there is nothing concrete yet.
Looking back, do you have any advice you want to give to your juniors? Do you have any regrets?
I don’t live my life with regrets, so no regrets. However, looking back, I wish I was more collaborative. I joined NTU-USP because I wanted to be in an environment not just specific to what I was doing but to meet different people with different mindsets. But I did not try hard to engage these people and do things with them.
So I would really encourage everyone to look for someone who is very different from you and try exploring a collaboration with this person. I think very interesting things will come out of it! It could be a simple act like exchanging a book, going on a museum trip or cooking a meal together, or it could be very big, like doing a project that supports a cause. There is potential to expand the things we do to reach out and help people beyond the NTU-USP community as well.
How about advice for people who want to venture into a similar path as you?
Travel and experience what’s outside of Singapore. Take every opportunity you can to be out of this bubble, even if it means to live in a lousy hostel, eat cheap bread from supermarkets or fly over two transit stops. Travel, not like a tourist, but as a curious, active and open-minded observer and participant, like a proactive global citizen. I think going out builds a lasting awareness of how big this world is, how small we are, the similarities and differences, what is needed and what is excessive. I believe these experiences will then be reflected in the standard of work we perform — works that are more informed, less indulgent and universally relatable.
You can also discover more about Soak Teng’s works at https://woongsoakteng.com/projects.
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