There is a common misconception that as we grow up, we lose our sense of wonder. This is not the case for Ripple Root. The artistic duo—made up of Liquan Liew and Estella Ng—has been charming Singapore’s art world for over a decade with their collaborative works. Their paintings are distinct for its childlike quality—not because their technique lacks sophistication, but because their brushstrokes possess a looseness and spontaneity, as though anything might suddenly appear on the canvas, guided by imagination untethered. In Ripple Root’s paintings, everyday Singapore is expressed in multicolour tableaux, where shophouses and greenery take on a sense of animation.
So endearing is their depiction of the everyday that their murals are visible all over Singapore. From office lobbies to hotel cafés, and even limited-edition bubble tea cup designs, their works have become integral to how Singapore’s visual identity is seen and remembered. Spend some time walking about and you’re likely to stumble upon one of Ripple Root’s works eventually.
When it comes to how they so expertly capture Singapore’s heritage through paint, Liew and Ng explain that their work is formed by an exchange of creativity. Once a subject matter is determined, brushstrokes simply pass back and forth until an image starts to settle into place. “A subsequent stroke is always just a response to that previous one,” they say. “We never know who will have the final stroke, and the final image is never definitive.” The duo describe their art more as a “naturally occurring conversation on canvas”. Here, completion isn’t the end goal. In fact, Ripple Root prefer to leave their works slightly undone, treating viewers as the final participant in the conversation. Perhaps that’s why the art feels as alive as it does, because there is life and movement happening in the process itself.
Ripple Root’s latest exhibition, Postcards From My Darling Love, will be on display at the Objectifs Centre for Photography and Film from 18 to 28 June. Inspired by the 1965 film, Chinta Kasih Sayang (known by the title My Darling Love in English) and its themes of love and labour, the artists have turned the film’s black and white scenes into a technicolour Singapore from the past. Eagle-eyed viewers might start to recognise familiar settings beneath the brushwork—outlines of Haw Par Villa, the sprawling expanse of East Coast Park, or a loosely formed silhouette of Chinese Garden pagodas. There’s also an undeniable cinematic quality in Postcards, with some pieces resembling vignettes from the film. In many ways, it reflects Ripple Root’s wider practice—where everything is reminiscent of an adolescent gaze that sees a city filled with serendipity.
Ahead, Liew and Ng talk about working as a duo, the must-see works in Postcards From My Darling Love, and more.
GRAZIA Singapore (GS): Much of your work draws from Singapore’s natural environments. What is it about these everyday landscapes that continues to feel like a form of escapism for you?
Ripple Root (RR): In the hustle-and-bustle of the concrete jungle we live in, natural forms and that “living”, organic quality is our necessary push back. We constantly want to escape the mundane—chasing that sense of freedom when we create—but when we paint we can only paint what is authentically real to us. And for us, it’s Southeast Asian/Singaporean forms—it’s our home, our roots. In particular for this show, we have this added layer of sentimentality, romanticising the past, embracing it, escaping into it and who we once were.
GS: When you first watched Chinta Kasih Sayang, did you already sense it could become something you’d work with? What was the first scene that stayed with you?
RR: Yes, we absolutely resonated with the idea of the artist prioritising his craft as his first love. We also liked how we could see what Singapore used to be like in the 1960s, especially the scenes of Haw Par Villa and Mount Faber which we know so well because of their close vicinity to our studio—an “aha!” moment spotting familiar spots like the iconic Collyer Quay area. The movie is a bit of a romp, not your usual sappy film because it’s actually quite funny and risqué at times. So many moments just fit our personalities and dynamics—sentimentality with a bit of sass.
GS: You’ve mentioned that “so much and yet, nothing much has changed” in Singapore since the time of Chinta Kasih Sayang. Do you see this continuity as something comforting or unsettling? Which specific themes from the film became the starting points for your exhibition?
RR: So comforting. If anything, we are constantly trying to preserve what was already here. By painting old scenes of Singapore it’s our way of imbuing life into the past, reminding people of what “once was”, done in our contemporary, current spin—full of whimsical colour. The theme of love and longing, or having to rethink your priorities, and have fun while doing it, is so relevant to anyone today. The tension of being caught between two worlds—we’ve always liked the idea of our works existing in this space of duality. When you look at our body work, we play up that tension: the dichotomy of embracing change or holding on tightly to our past; of frantically moving forward or being at ease, staying put right where we are.
GS: As viewers step into Postcards From My Darling Love, is there a particular artwork you hope they pause on or emotionally connect with first?
RR: Definitely, from 2016 we have The Life Pursuit, a never-shown-before framed work on wood panel that is still befitting of our theme of “Pursuing What You Love”. It’s nice to see that even a decade of art-making, some things stay stylistically the same, our work ethos is still unchanged.
We have a few canvas paintings such as Corner of my Mind, Crossroads, and The Heart Wants what it Wants that really play with the framing device, depicting scenes within scenes, so the viewer doesn’t just get one painting, but multiple paintings within the canvas. This is befitting of Objectifs and the medium of film, where you are faced with multiple vignettes and as visual artists we have the opportunity to piece them together like a tapestry. We’re exploring one particular piece while thinking about another. Similar to how memory works in non-linear fashion, our mind constantly pulls together fragmented memories from various depths and corners.
Finally, we also made a trio of small paintings on wooden board: I’m a Singaporean, Shall We Eat Together and What Will We Have. Just like Tumblr posts, where one scene can just capture an entire present mood, we like the idea of taking these scenes out of context and have them accurate surmise the mundane yet comical bits of daily life.
GS: Even after more than a decade of working together, what do you think has allowed your synchronicity to remain so strong over time?
RR: From day one, we were on the same aesthetic wavelength. Over the course of this partnership we’ve honed the sense of trust between us even further, completing each other’s sentences and strokes seamlessly. But in general the both of us being fluid, “going with the flow”, and liking the idea of the unexpected really helps.
You can’t always plan for everything and sometimes the beauty is in the surprise. We are always inspired by life and life is always changing. And when you see yourself as a mere conduit for life and art to happen through you, that singular creative vision stays intact. We respect each other deeply enough at the end of the day to set our egos aside, always prioritising this larger-than-life thing we’ve built together. We’re always restless, eager to create the next thing, and excited to see where the art leads.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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