Isabella Ong

ON-GOING

Lucy in the Sky with Debris


SELECTED WORKS

Weathering With Us 
Íchni


CONCEPTS
Machines Of Bits And Bobs, And The Exquisite Monsters They Create
Breath Pavilion


RESEARCH / EXPERIMENTS
Play Hacks
[ML] Shadow Play


A media artist, based in Singapore, working in the fields of computation, architecture and research. 

Mark



Isabella Ong is a Singapore-based artist working across the fields of art, materiality, research and technology. Her practice is informed by a desire to unveil the complex entanglements of how we relate to the natural environment; combining computational techniques with the investigation and use of tangible materials, such as volcanic sand and debris. Through her artworks, she interrogates the role of the artist in the context of a warming world, using her work as a medium to communicate the science of ecology to a broader audience. With an emphasis on how we are all reciprocally and remarkably connected, she hopes that her artworks will lead us to a more affectionate relationship with the environment.

Her work exhibits internationally, including at COP26 in Glasgow and National Design Centre, Singapore. Other works have been exhibited at the Dutch Design Week and Today Art Museum in Beijing. She studied architecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and received her MArch in Design for Performance and Interaction from the Bartlett, UCL. 

She is a co-founder of awe.curation, a platform that curates and presents emerging artists and practices whose works are relevant in the intersection of art, new media and technology.

Contact: isabellaong@gmail.com




EXHIBITIONS

Waste Refinery (Group Show), Weathering With You,
National Design Centre, Singapore
2021—2022

Weathering With You,
HEARTH Gallery, Singapore
2021

Reimagining Museums for Climate Action, Weathering With You,
COP26, Glasgow Science Centre, Glasgow
2021

Dutch Design Week (Virtual), Machines of Bits and Bobs, And The Exquisite Monsters They Create
2020

Here There, Íchni film showcase,
Today Art Museum, Beijing
2019

Bartlett Fifteen, Íchni film showcase,
The Bartlett, UCL, London
2018

Gradute Project Faire, live installation of Íchni,
Here East, UCL, London
2018

CityEx, Wall Campus,
URA Building, Singapore
2015

SG50: Rethinking Our City For Singapore’s Next 50 Years,
The Collab-oratory,
URA Building, Singapore
2015

CityEx, Panopticon,
URA Building, Singapore
2013

Cafe/Speakeasy,
Lorong 24A Shophouse, Singapore
2011



PUBLICATIONS

‘Healing and Intimacy in Climate Narratives’, Article. In: Reimagining Museums for Climate Action.
Edited by Rodney Harrison and Colin Sterling.
2021

PLAYHOUSE, Machines Of Bits And Bobs, And The Exquisite Monsters They Create
2021

LAF: Observation and Representation, Journal Article “ĺchni: Devices for a Joyful Architecture
2019



AWARDS

Reimagining Museums for Climate Action, Finalist
2020

Wonderfruit Pavilion, Shortlisted
2019

Bee Breeder’s Internet Museum, Honourable Mention
2016

Vertical Cities Asia Competition, Honourable Mention
2015



EDUCATION

Masters of Architecture, Design for Performance and Interaction,
The Bartlett, University College of London
2017—2018

Bachelors of Arts in Architecture (Hons), National University of Singapore
2011—2015

Adam Caruso Studio, ETH Zurich
2013



WORKSHOPS

Empower Shack, Brillembourg & Klumpner Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, ETH, Zurich
2013

Transmaterial II, Monash Art Design & Architecture (MADA), Melbourne
2013