Born in Singapore, Ho Leng is a graduate of the local Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) and Loughborough University, United Kingdom. She attained her Master of Arts from the Goldsmith University of London in 2014 and pursued a Master of Art Business at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York. To Ho, these mediums allow viewers to open their minds to various experiences and subject matter.
Ho Leng’s interest in heritage houses of Southeast Asia closely references her graduation project, Old Dutch House, in 2009. This body of work is a continuation of her investigations on the collective consciousness of the past generation. The ‘Living’ Room series documents the forgotten house home to five generations of Muar Chinese Hokkiens in Malaysia. ‘Living’ Room #03 “, forgotten”, depicts its remaining elderly occupants, resolute in preserving the house despite its dilapidated condition. Conversely, ‘Living’ Room #09 “released” offers a tale of loss and displacement, yet renewal and hope awaits. The younger generation leaves the house in ruins with the intention of selling the land, but the land (contract) is, in actuality, potentially waiting to be realised and released to its new fate by its future owners.
