With his last solo exhibition Inward having taken place in 2008, The Urban Abyss promises to be a strong development from the artist's previous solo show.

The artist’s interests lie within the experimentation and discovery of different image-making techniques; through additive and subtractive transformations, weaving random subjects into imbricate creations. The artist believes that art has a place in all our lives and it is all just a matter of recognising its presence. His art is essentially image-play stimulated from the methods and styles of paper-cutting and stencil art, a great combination of such timeless crafts.

Chee Meng chooses to refer to his works as fictional compositions, as taglines and storylines are conjured before proceeding with the actual design process. In turn, viewing them as fictitious formations. Within this particular series, his artworks are a response to current social, urban events.

The artist finds that he gains inspiration from a myriad of sources such as advertisements, thought-out design (i.e. arrangements, colours and composition) along with different forms of existing urban art, comprising of photos, furniture, street art, dance, music, et al. With the intention to explore and develop the possibilities of the “remixed cultures” in his work, these layered paintings are composed of three visual surfaces through contemporary artistic execution. Chee Meng describes his works as, “a mix of a hard-edged painting approach with a dramatic figurative reinterpretation to relay more complex meanings”.

Essentially, the artist’s wish is to provide his audience with the chance to witness what he believes to be an exceptional combination of paper-cutting effects and encourages them to look beyond the materials and techniques to decipher the messages that lay beneath.

Image: © Wong Chee Meng, Wei Ling Contemporary