Chiew Sien Kuan is a painter and sculptor from Singapore. He graduated with a Diploma in Fine Art from the Academy in 1989. He obtained his undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Tasmania, Australia, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education from NTU-NIE, Singapore, in 2008. Chiew is a dedicated educator who taught at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts for over two decades. Like the previous Singapore pioneer artists who taught at the Academy, he explores and develops a varied body of work, challenging himself to create art that is relevant to the contemporary. His artistic interests include drawing, painting, sculpture, assemblage and installation.

Land Rover - SKC2010N is inspired by machines, specifically the Land Rover, a British-made all-terrain vehicle that debuted in 1948. Chiew attempts to construct, label and depict the practicality of this once World War II vehicle, which is now known as a luxury commodity, by rendering a driver’s seat. This assemblage is a metaphor for our social system of rapid motion, a form of creation enabling us to embody a moment of contemplation and freedom by taking the driver’s seat. Employing found materials such as wood and metal, this artwork of past aesthetics with present objects encourages one to rethink object-making and its functionality as an installation.