Dewi Sriwahyuto
Picture by Elliot Lee Rhetoriques Photography.
Just 2 years ago, he was busking along Orchard Road and at Tampines Mall.
Today, he’s being represented by Knight Runners, a creative platform formed in Singapore for the unseen and unheard local talents.
His greatest achievement so far would be Nature / Future – an ongoing 25-day exhibition of his very own paintings at House @ Dempsey, located in Dempsey Hill where 24 of his newest pieces are showcased and are on the market.
For the first time in his 12 years of spray-painting, Jordan Ng, 24, finally has his pieces officially up on walls.
Jordan says: “It’s actually a different feeling seeing my paintings in a gallery now because I don’t have a crowd around me. Instead, people walk into the gallery and ask me about my works and my inspiration. Space paintings are street paintings, so it’s really different to what I’m used to but it’s definitely a good feeling.”
Jordan is the only spray graffiti artist in Singapore who does this on a large-scale. If you’ve seen him at work on the streets, you’d know that his forte is space paintings.
Pictures by Jordan Ng:
1) Silver Creek
2) Through
3) City of Ice
4) End of the Sun
This hobby of his started when he was on holiday with his family in Sydney. Jordan was only 12 years old then.
The artist says, “I came across a guy who was spray-painting on the streets and I thought it was interesting. So, when I got home, I bought a canvas and a few spray cans and started to paint. Since then, I’ve been spending my free time spray-painting.”
He adds, “I learnt this art on my own. I kept practicing and learning from my mistakes. Being committed, determined and also with a little help from tutorials on YouTube, I got to where I am today.”
The technique that Jordan uses is simple. But if you don’t have the flare in painting that he has, then it isn’t going to be easy.
Jordan starts off by spraying a puddle of paint on his glossy, non-absorbent canvas and after a good deal of scratching of the paint and cutting of canvas with the use of only crease paper and knives, a masterpiece is created.
Jordan’s fastest timing clocked for an A4-sized painting is an amazing 40 seconds while the longest he’s ever taken was 2 hours, which was for a 5ft by 3ft piece.
This largest piece that he’s ever painted was meant as a backdrop for a party called “Alley Trash” that was organized by Knight Runners, which recently took place on Sept 12.
Picture by Elliot Lee Rhetoriques Photography
Ashe Naraya, 38, the founder of Knight Runners, who signed Jordan on to the company shortly after Bay Beats 2009 says: “In terms of art, I’m open to concepts but I can personally relate to Jordan’s style because it works with my beliefs that our forefathers are from space.”
Although Jordan delves in just 3 realms – space, fantasy and nature for his paintings, he somehow manages to make each piece look more interesting than the one before.
And that’s all thanks to artist’s block.
Jordan says: “When I’m all out of ideas of what to paint, I just write down the different elements of my most recent paintings like trees and waterfall and I put the pieces of paper in a jar, shake it then pull out 5 of them and combine all the elements that I’ve randomly picked out for my next painting.”
He’s a smart one, isn’t he? Not to mention, rich too.
Using just 3 simple tools when he paints – knives, crease paper and spray paint, which he purchases from Art Friend, this talented young man has sold one of his pieces for $1, 200.
He also has a number of paintings that he dubs his “best-sellers”. The Fire Support and Singapore Flyer paintings are popular with tourists, where over a hundred pieces have been sold for each.
5) Fire Support
6) Singapore Flyer
Pictures by Jordan Ng.
Jordan’s other best seller that “sells like hotcakes”, which is also his personal favourite, would be the piece called Painting Number 1.
Jordan feels that this painting is his “lucky piece” as it’s the only one that he’s had to make more than a hundred replicas of.
Picture by Jordan Ng.
When asked if busking was a good platform for him, Jordan says: “Yes it was. I had a chance to showcase my talent and I was earning a substantial amount too. I actually earn more than an office worker in a month.”
Well, Jordan would never need to work a 9 to 5 job even if his career as a spray graffiti artist doesn’t work out. That’s because he has a licence to fly.
No, not fly like Superman, but fly as a pilot.
The Singapore Youth Flying Club awarded Jordan his licence in Feb 2004 where he trained as a pilot there for 1 and half years.
He has plans to pilot for Singapore Airlines, however, that would depend on the economy as he intends to “wait for it to stabilise first” before applying for the position.
Apart from a licence, this future pilot will soon receive a degree in Aviation Management from New Zealand’s Massey University. He’s currently waiting for convocation.
But Jordan’s not going to stop there.
Not too long ago, he received an email from Massey University stating that he has to return to complete his degree with Honours, which will take a year.
So will he stop painting?
Jordan says: “No. I will still continue to paint in New Zealand. Painting’s my hobby and passion and I won’t ever not do it.”
Nature / Future is currently ongoing and will run till Nov 30. The exhibition is located at House, 8D Dempsey Road. For anyone interested in Jordan’s paintings, email him at dj_aron@hotmail.com or visit his blog – “Nightsky Paintings” and leave a comment with your contact details.