Divaagar, Quỳnh Lâm, Kamolros Wonguthum
By A&M

Here are the takeaways from the panel:

The artists find ways of staying true to their voice in the face of commercial pressure.
The pandemic opened up new ways of expanding their practice.
There is value in building networks both locally and abroad.

For the first talk of LANDING, we spoke with three ‘Fresh Faces’ artists speaking about their artistic coming of age, and what the past year has been like for their practices. The panel featured Singapore artist Divaagar Zooming in from Singapore, Vietnamese artist Quỳnh Lâm from Tennessee and Thai artist Kamolros Wonguthum from London. The talk was moderated by Alana Malika, Content Manager at Art & Market.

Key Points

The artists find ways of staying true to their voice in the face of commercial pressure. In their early careers, all three artists experienced the same pressure of creating ‘collectible’ art to sustain their livelihood and career path. However as they matured, the three artists found ways to land opportunities to create art that is authentic to their voice. Kalmoros reflected that she was able to make a living off her art in Bangkok, but the situation is different in London. She takes on part-time jobs outside of the art industry as a means of supplementing her income and taking care of her mental health. Echoing this statement, Divaagar stated that life lessons gained from working odd jobs often find themselves back into his practice. It also keeps him grounded. Quỳnh shared an early experience with a gallerist who urged her to quickly sell works at a lower price, which she was uncomfortable with. Today, she focuses on environments that encourage research-based work, such as residencies. Kamolros, Quỳnh, and Diva express a similar career aspiration: that they can continue to sustain their practice and dive deeper into their passions.
The pandemic opened up new ways of expanding their practice. As interdisciplinary artists, the pandemic offered time and flexibility to diversify their methods while also staying true to their artistic identity. Kalmoros and Quynh spoke about how they enjoyed working from home. Quynh talked about her piece ‘Quaran-tea’ (2020) which repurposed tea bags she collected during the pandemic. The piece continued her use of organic material in her practice while also putting forth a commentary about how time marches on while in isolation. Divaagar ruminated on the importance of diversifying one’s methods. He leaned into his digital design skills in multiple projects including ‘Soft Salves’ (2020), a digital piece commissioned for ‘Living Legacies’ by Plural Art Mag. ‘Soft Salves’ follows fictional influencer, Vita, endorsing Aryuvedic medicine. In the experimental project, Diva gained experience working with a model, web-based mediums, and working in digital exhibitions.
There is value in building networks both locally and abroad. As art school graduates, all three artists expressed the influence of academic context in one’s formative years as an artist. Kamolros and Quỳnh have experience studying art in both Eastern and Western art institutions. The two agreed that the cultural differences have become pertinent topics in their art as they explore their journey in finding their identity between two places. Quỳnh talked about how connections are crucial for attaining information and being informed of opportunities. This was especially so in Vietnam before the internet made information more accessible. Divaagar encouraged young artists to cultivate friendships within the community. To Kalmoros, Thailand is where family is, and she feels this keenly each time she returns. She elaborated on how she plans to go back and forth between Bangkok and London, because she has other fields she wants to explore in both cities, especially in feminism.

Watch the full recording of LANDING Panel 1 here: