Mervin Singham
Conscience $3,800 Status: Sold
Dark Room $2,900 Status: Sold
Penance $2,950 Status: Available
Raf and the Black Angel $1,900 Status: Available
Rise Up $1,500 Status: Available
St Raphael $2,700 Status: Sold
St Estelle $2,700 Status: Available
Suzie and the Postman $2,950 Status: Available
The Watchers $1,900 Status: Available
Hold Me Tight $3,250 framed Status: Sold
Jacqueline and Monique on a good day $2,800 framed Status: Available
Pre Emptive Strike $3,800 Status: Sold
Of Sri Lankan – English descent, I grew up in Malaysia and have lived in New Zealand for 28 years. My life has involved straddling different worlds of origin and identity and continues to be immeasurably enriched for doing so. I have been painting for 14 years. My experiences in New Zealand have been marked by both adversity and joy and created a vast reservoir of inspiration for my work.
My work reflects the palette and deep spiritual content of my cultural roots. When I look at my canvas, I see stories that asked to be told. I paint things I cannot articulate eloquently but need to be said about the paradox, dilemma and hope that frequently accompany the human condition. My paintings are commentaries that reveal the hidden meanings behind events in our lives. Underpinning the stories in each work, I hope, is compassion and recognition of the beauty of human vulnerability.
Each painting represents a ‘collaboration’ between what the colours, scratches and drips on my canvas are saying and what my mind’s eye sees. I add layers, some remain while others are stripped away. Each layer or ‘wound’, seen or unseen, is precious. Nothing is futile or wasted. Like in our lives, the character and depth of each work emerges from the layers of our experience and what we are prepared to feel. I hope my stories both disturb