'I just feel happy': Artist with Down syndrome finds joy creating 'art from the heart'

SINGAPORE: Her favourite YouTube show is playing on a tablet placed right in front of her, but Fern Wong hardly pays any attention to it.

With a penknife in hand, she makes small slits on a piece of paper before carefully removing a tiny cut-out that measures barely 1cm.

There are no sketches done beforehand. Every slit with the pen knife seems spontaneous yet, as one will later find out, precise to form a complex symmetrical pattern. The delicate paper cuts are then coloured using felt-tip markers or acrylic paint.

Ms Wong, a visual artist, devotes hours to cutting and colouring every day. Still, finishing a piece of work can take months, as she seeks perfection in every detail.

“It’s not difficult,” she told CNA during an interview at her home last month. “I just feel happy.”

For Ms Wong, who lives with Down syndrome, art has been more than just a source of joy. It has given her the ability to connect with the world and a chance at a normal life.

Her art pieces – which started as brightly coloured dot paintings before transitioning into a combination of drawing and paper cuts in recent years – speak volumes of her joyful personality, creativity, perseverance and a keen eye for details, said her parents and those familiar with her art.

Without formal training, she simply does “art from the heart”, her parents said.

The self-taught artist has won several local and international awards. She is also a regular at exhibitions organised by ART:DIS, a local non-profit organisation dedicated to creating learning and livelihood opportunities for persons with disabilities in the arts.

“Her works have always been one of the first to be sold,” said ART:DIS executive director Angela Tan, describing Ms Wong’s style as “truly unique”.

“DADDY, I AM THE ARTIST”

Ms Wong began showing an interest in drawing when she was young, but a congenital heart condition limited her time at it. Two holes in her heart, which affected blood flow through the heart and the rest of the body, meant that she was hospitalised frequently and had to be on daily medication.

“She actually turned blue a few times because her heart couldn’t cope,” recounted mum Lily Wong. “She was so delicate and because of her condition, she was generally a very quiet child.”

A turning point came when Ms Wong underwent heart surgery at the age of nine. As her health improved, she could finally spend more time on art.

“She was doodling all over the house. There was once when I opened my Bible one Sunday and I found a new design inside. It was all Fern’s geometric drawings,” dad James Wong said.

Her parents decided it was time to furnish their daughter with proper drawing materials. 

As Ms Wong progressed from regular drawing paper to larger canvases, geometric shapes remained a fixture, which she complements with the technique of colouring in small and distinct dots. Ornate dot paintings became her signature style, alongside vibrant splashes of colour.

Her parents are unsure where Ms Wong gets her inspiration from but noted that she is a “very serious” artist who guards her style fiercely.

Mr Wong recalled: “Sometimes when I see her doing her dot paintings, I will tell her it will take a very long time to finish so why not paint with bigger strokes. She will tell me, ‘Daddy, I am the artist.’”

“I don’t know how her mind works when she’s doing her art, but what we know is that she is always happy and that is why her work is usually very vibrant and colourful.

“When you see a patch of dark (colour), which is very rare, that is when she is sad, likely because she got (a scolding) from us for sleeping late and things like that,” Mr Wong said with a chuckle.

In 2002, encouraged by a staff member at ART:DIS, then known as Very Special Arts Singapore, Ms Wong signed up for a painting competition. The Wongs had no expectations and were pleasantly surprised when she beat more than 100 other participants to clinch first prize.

With new-found confidence, Ms Wong started submitting her works for various competitions.

She continued her winning streak, with a memorable win in 2003 when she competed in the open category at one competition and took home the top prize.

“The judges did not know that she is a special needs child so when she showed up to receive the prize, they were surprised,” Mr Wong said.

International recognition came in 2018 when Ms Wong won the grand prize at the Paralym Art World Cup, an annual contest for artists with disabilities from around the world.

“We believe in stretching her to her fullest potential. Fern has special needs but she can also be given a chance to succeed,” said Mrs Wong.

FINDING A NEW STYLE WITH PAPER CUTTING

It was in 2015 when Ms Wong stumbled upon the art of paper cutting.

“The story behind that was that she was left alone after my husband went through a major operation,” her mother recalled. “All my attention went to my husband, so I forgot to replenish the drawing papers for Fern. Even all her markers dried up.”

So Ms Wong made do with what she could find at home – old church bulletins, scraps of used paper, scissors and a chipped pen knife. On her own, she developed a startling archive of dozens of paper cuttings and found herself a new artistic style.

One of these creations won a top prize at the UOL-ART:DIS Art Prize last year. 

The winning piece is currently on display at an exhibition organised by ART:DIS, aptly named Turning Points. Other paper cuttings by Ms Wong are also on display via two hanging installations.

The exhibition, which will be open for its last day at the Selegie Arts Centre on Feb 12, also features works by deaf photographer Isabelle Lim and autistic artist Kenneth Wong.

“(The installations) help to create a sense of movement to the paper cuts, (giving) a sense of the lightness and joy that comes with the delicate paper cuts. You also have the light reflecting against her work to create shadows,” said Ms Tan from ART:DIS.

“We wanted to give it a new way of looking at her work.”

The allure of Ms Wong’s paper cuts comes from a “pure passion to create” and a style that is uniquely hers, added Ms Tan, who has witnessed the evolution of the artist’s style from abstract paintings on large canvases to intricate paper cuts derived from found materials.

“Fern has never received formal training in arts … so her work doesn’t have complex write-ups around what it is about or what it’s trying to convey. It’s a pure emotive response (to create) and she does that religiously every single day.”

Through its exhibition, ART:DIS hopes to showcase the talents of non-mainstream artists like Ms Wong and ultimately, bring about inclusivity in the local arts landscape.

Ms Wong clearly enjoys the chance to share her work with people. Her parents joyfully recall seeing their daughter approaching visitors at past exhibitions, with questions such as “Is my work nice?” and “Please support me, okay?”

“We never taught her all these. She was so natural and confident, which was a surprise for us,” her mother said with a smile.

“We also noticed that people usually leave smiling after looking at her art, so she seems to be sharing her joy with other people too.”

Ms Wong will hold a solo exhibition later this year – an opportunity that comes as part of her win at the UOL-ART:DIS Art Prize in 2023. 

“She had the least at birth, but she now has the most peace and joy in her life, and that matters a lot to us,” Mr Wong said.

Mrs Wong said her daughter’s growth, as an individual and as an artist, has showed that “even people with setbacks and disadvantages can live to their fullest potential when given the right opportunity and love, and leave a legacy to inspire other people”.

“We are very proud of her.”