Interview with Artist Donna Ong

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It may come as a surprise to learn that Donna Ong, winner of the 2015 Prudential Eye Awards (Installation Category), once struggled with art class in the past and still occasionally faces doubt regarding her chosen profession. Donna’s installation work has been shown in places such as the Singapore Art Museum, Hara Museum in Japan, Moscow Museum of Art, Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, Queen's Museum in New York, Primo Marella Gallery in Milan, and Projekte Krinzinger in Austria. In this interview, I talk to her about what sparked her interest in the arts, challenges artists’ face, and her goals as an artist.

When did your interest in art start?

My father was an artist so I grew up in a house full of artworks he had made, as well as reproductions of artworks made by famous artists. Even the garden had small sculptures amongst the plants and trees! I suspect it was this childhood environment that started my interest in the arts.

Was your love for art something that you feel was a natural talent or something that developed over time?

Since my youth, I’ve loved drawing and making things even though I wasn’t any better than my fellow classmates. In fact, I recall really struggling in art class and later on, at art college. However, it was something I really wanted to do and spent a lot of time trying to improve my skills. I remember going for extra drawing lessons and holiday art courses.

Gift Series: Hortus Conclusus: Gift #17 and #19 | 2013

What is your favorite style of art and why?

I work mainly in sculpture and installation, though I have recently started doing film. This also happens to be my favourite style of art because it is immersive and affects all one’s senses - body, mind and emotion.

What aspect of your work do you find the most satisfying?

I love researching and coming up with ideas. This always gives me a big buzz. I also love talking to people about the ideas I am excited about and hearing their opinions and insights on the same topic.

Have there been times when you doubted that you were going in the right direction?

Often. Every time I have a setback, someone criticises me, or I have an anxiety attack about the state of my poor finances, I start doubting my chosen path. Art is a difficult career as it is a very solitary one. There is only one person in the research department coming up with the ideas - and that same person is also the one producing and marketing the work. This means you need to have a lot of confidence in both yourself and your work because the buck stops with you.

What are some challenges of artists in general?

The challenges are different from artist to artist. For me, they are mainly time and money management, as well as saying no to good projects so I can concentrate on the projects that will be better for my practice and career.

Project: Waterfall | 2005

Can you share a particularly challenging period you went through and what you did?

I moved to Berlin in 2013 because I ran into a creativity block and felt stuck as an artist… things were beginning to feel routine and comfortable. Making art seemed easy and even boring. I wanted to shake things up and interact with artists and artwork that were very different from my work and from myself.

In Berlin, I encountered countless excellent artists who were articulate, talented and disciplined. Being in such an environment showed me how much further I had to go and motivated me to continue experimenting and striving for excellence.

Read the original interview (Sep 12 2016) here.