Chinese ink on paper, 2026
Ng Kuan Shin
Junyuan Secondary School
Pulse and Veil present ink art as an open field of inquiry, where gesture, rhythm, and chance operate as both method and meaning. Using coloured Chinese ink on Xuan paper, the works emerge through repeated, intuitive brush movements that emphasise play as a serious artistic strategy. The absorbent surface resists full control, allowing ink to bleed, pool, and settle unpredictably. This material responsiveness transforms each stroke into a negotiation between intention and accident, movement and pause. Influenced by daily rhythms, calligraphic discipline, and abstract mark-making, the process values doing, testing, and responding over pre-planned outcomes.
Pulse is driven by accumulation and tempo. Dense, vertical marks and vibrant colour interactions suggest energy, breath, and the persistent beat of lived experience. Veil adopts an opposing yet related approach: layered horizontal washes slow the eye, muting colour and softening edges. Concealment and revelation unfold gradually, evoking time, memory, and sedimented experience.
Together, the works invite viewers to consider ink not as a vehicle for fixed images, but as a living process. Attention is drawn to how meaning forms through repetition, patience, and openness to uncertainty—where looking becomes an act of quiet participation rather than resolution.
What surprised you when you allowed yourself to start with play?
When I started with play, I discovered that letting go taught me more than control ever did. Ink moved in ways I couldn’t predict, and instead of correcting it, I learned to follow it. Each stroke became a breath, a dialogue, a reminder that unlearning can feel like uncovering other ways of creating that I had forgotten I knew.
What is one play hack you would like to share to help fellow teacher-artists experiment and create without expectations?
One play hack I would like to share is to start every session by making a deliberate “mistake.” Drip, drag, or splatter without correcting it. Let that first unexpected mark lead the rest of the work. It cuts through perfection pressure and turns surprise into your partner in creation.
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Read more about ►EDGE 2026 and the existing artworks.
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