Tokyo’s premier street artist Shinichiro Inui fuses elements from the past and the present through idiosyncratic Japanese motifs.

The power of Street Art has proved itself to be more potent than ever in these unpredictable, tumultuous times. As the world continues on its journey towards further chaos and disarray, it is up to the street (or sometimes dubbed ‘graffiti’) artist to interpret the messiness of the times that we live in.

Japanese street artist Shinichiro Inui – already a popular figure in Tokyo’s street fashion scene with his often imitated (but never bettered) one-off ready-to-wear pieces that are individually spray-painted and emblazoned with pins and patches that evoke the spirit of “Punk” in all its glory – is one such voice. For his first solo show in Singapore, Inui has decided to channel deep within his own cultures and roots to realize a new series of works that are filled with a hodgepodge of cool counter culture references, both from the past and present. In one painting, the popping splendour of a doughnut image is juxtaposed against that of the traditional geisha, as if to say that the nature of desire has always been apparent since ancient times. Elsewhere, primal figures such as a woman’s naked body are placed alongside a screaming mouth and idyllic scenes of Tokyo’s nature sites, illuminating the social and moral anxieties that are inescapable be it in the past or present. Inui may have dubbed the show “Old Fashion”, but his works are anything but.

As a clarion call to these uncertain times, Singaporean artist Lakshmi Mohanbabu urges us to look within through her series of hypnotic geometric paintings.

The power of religion and scriptures – specifically their signs and symbols – has become increasingly pertinent in our daily lives. Especially in these times of uncertainty where meaning has almost disappeared from most physical realities, it is the task of the artist to dwell deeper beyond surface textures, but into the realms of the transcendental instead, in an act of defiance to uncover their respective ideals of personal and universal “truths”.

So much so that emerging Singaporean artist Lakshmi Mohanbabu, who is from Indian descent, has gotten back to her Kerala roots to discover the inner realms of contemporary life. Drawing from the cross-cultural patterns and paths of the Mandala – an influence and motif transcending across religions and tribes seen in Hindu temples, Buddhist stupas, Muslim mosques and Christian cathedrals, as well as the hypnotic color schemes from the color wheels invited by Sir Isaac Newton – to realize a bold series of works named “Interaction”. Patterns and lines drawn from ancient times coalesces beautifully with a series of bold colours – both tertiary and primary – to illustrate to us the magical wonders of achieving balance in our lives, the Yin and the Yang and of our personal dualities.