Isabella Ong is a Singapore-based artist working across the fields of art, materiality, research and technology. Her practice is informed by a desire to unveil the complex entanglements of how we relate to the natural environment, with research interests spanning geology, botany, phycology, climate data and computational art, offering multiple perspectives of our place in this world. Through her artworks, she interrogates the role of the artist in the context of a warming world, using her work as a medium to not only communicate the science of ecology to a broader audience but also offer a glimmer of hope in these fraught times. With an emphasis on how we are all reciprocally and remarkably connected, she hopes that her artworks would lead us to a more affectionate relationship with the environment.
Her work exhibits internationally, including at COP26 in Glasgow and National Design Centre, Singapore. Other works have been exhibited at the Dutch Design Week and Today Art Museum in Beijing. She studied architecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and received her MArch in Design for Performance and Interaction from the Bartlett, UCL. She leads a design studio in the department of architecture, NUS.
She is a co-founder of awe.curation, a platform that curates and presents emerging artists and practices whose works are relevant in the intersection of art, new media and technology.
Masters of Architecture, Design for Performance and Interaction,
The Bartlett, University College of London
2017-2018
Bachelors of Arts in Architecture (Hons), National University of Singapore
2011-2015
Adam Caruso Studio, ETH Zurich
2013
Waste Refinery (Group Show), Weathering With You,
National Design Centre, Singapore
2021—2022
Solo Show, Weathering With You,
HEARTH Gallery, Singapore
2021
Reimagining Museums for Climate Action, Weathering With You,
COP26, Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow
2021
Dutch Design Week (Virtual), Machines of Bits and Bobs, And The Exquisite Monsters They Create
2020
Here There, Íchni film showcase, Today Art Museum, Beijing
2019
Bartlett Fifteen, Íchni film showcase, The Bartlett, UCL, London
2018
Gradute Project Faire, live installation of Íchni, Here East, UCL, London
2018
CityEx, Wall Campus, URA Building, Singapore
2015
SG50: Rethinking Our City For Singapore’s Next 50 Years,
The Collab-oratory, URA Building, Singapore
2015
CityEx, Panopticon, URA Building, Singapore
2013
Cafe/Speakeasy, Lorong 24A Shophouse, Singapore
2011
PLAYHOUSE, Machines Of Bits And Bobs, And The Exquisite Monsters They Create
2021
LAF: Observation and Representation, Journal Article “ĺchni: Devices for a Joyful Architecture”
2019
Reimagining Museums for Climate Action, Finalist
2020
Wonderfruit Pavilion, Shortlisted
2019
Bee Breeder’s Internet Museum, Honourable Mention
2016
Vertical Cities Asia Competition, Honourable Mention
2015
National University of Singapore, Dean’s List
2012
Independent Researcher & Designer
2019-now
awe.curation, Co-Founder
2019-now
Architectural Designer, Lekker Architects
2019-2020
Internship, New Media Artist, Modular Unit
2017
Web Developer, General Assembly
2016
Internship, SPARK Architects
2011
Empower Shack, Brillembourg & Klumpner Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, ETH, Zurich
2013
Transmaterial II, Monash Art Design & Architecture (MADA), Melbourne
2013