Creatif Compleks is the culmination of Michael Lee’s reflection on the function of the artist’s studio within the arts ecology of a city. The work takes the form of a diagram about a hypothetical property development consisting of various configurations of the artist’s home/studio. The use of LED rope lights, a popular fixture in advertising and interior design, alludes to latent apprehensions about the development and promotion of the arts in Singapore which today are, arguably, at a feverish pitch. Informed by myths and fantasies of artists in their studios, the work takes a speculative leap into the utopian and the absurd.

The work’s first iteration, developed during the artist’s residency at NTU CCA Singapore in 2018, is in the Singapore Art Museum Collection. This 2022 version is commissioned with the support of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd and as part of The Everyday Museum, a public art initiative by Singapore Art Museum.

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