A r t i s t   B i o g r a p h y / /

'Free will', the ability to act and think freely according to whatever that is felt by the inner mind. Melissa approaches art through a subtle while not 'being in control' manner. 'A painting should flow like the river, randomized motion just like the frequency of life'. One should not be a control freak and take life too seriously. Following the motion of life, Melissa expresses herself artistically in photography and film-making, her works are based on what is 'felt', rather than what is 'seen'. She pursues ideas with an open mind and heart. Living in a rather conservative society, Melissa portrays thoughts of escapism and freedom in her works while relating it to things that the masses take for granted. She enjoys travelling to places where she can find simplicity, pure love and struggle. Finding beauty in a beautiful scenario is easy. Imagine finding beauty in imperfection and ugliness, the meaning is thus intensified and that subtle beauty could be of intrinsic value. For Melissa, her works speaks for itself and thus do not need any superficial statements from our world of ‘meaningless –isms’.

Melissa is currently a MA in Photography & Urban Cultures student with the Sociology Department of Goldsmiths, University of London. She has won the 2009 UOB Platinum Award for her works ‘Lyrical Memoirs’ and 2008 Epson Colour Imaging Competition’s Singapore winner. She has worked for The Straits Times as a photojournalist and is currently freelancing on-going commercial projects. In the meantime Melissa continues her practice in contemporary fine arts photography.