Lin Hsin Hsin, Tie-girl?, 1990
Oil on paper
37.5 x 27 cm (visible), 62 x 50 x 2.5 cm (framed)
Condition: Good, foxing throughout the work, with mould present within the frame. The condition is consistent with the age of the work. Restoration and reframing is advised.
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Literature
Lin, Hsin Hsin. Lin Hsin Hsin: Work from Time Series. Singapore: National Museum Art Gallery, 1991, p. 64.
This painting can be viewed in both ways: horizontal: tiger, vertical: girl with plats.
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Lin Hsin Hsin's works on paper are playful, and a little aloof in their play. Where her canvases lean into colour and system, the paper works loosen up, holding character and wit while staying abstract, playing openly with form and with what to reveal or withhold.
Made to be read either way up, horizontal or vertical, with a title that questions itself as openly as the image does, Tie-girl? is an exercise in play, concealment, and how the form something takes is left to its beholder.
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Lin Hsin Hsin 林欣欣 (Singaporean, b. 1952) is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist renowned for her pioneering work across diverse media, including early innovations in digital art for visual and performing arts. With a foundation in mathematics and computer science, she is also an accomplished poet and composer, finding a shared abstractness in art, mathematics, and music.
Her artistic journey began in childhood but took shape after high school, when she delved into oil painting under the guidance of Nanyang-style pioneer Cheong Soo Pieng (Singaporean, 1917–1983). Inspired by European masters like Pablo Picasso, Paul Klee, and Joan Miró—who also explored the intersections of music and mathematics—Lin developed a unique approach to abstraction.
Her oil paintings from the 1970s to 1990s are marked by vibrant chromaticism and rhythmic compositions, reflecting philosophical meditations on the complexities of contemporary life in Singapore. Lin’s work stands as a significant contribution to Singapore’s post-independence arts landscape.
(Photographed in April 2026)