You grew up in Johor Bahru. How did that influence you?
Growing up in Johor Bahru was difficult only because I went to school in Singapore. Every day, you had a two-hour commute to Singapore and back. But I liked that I was growing up in Johor Bahru because there was actually land to play on – it’s not the concrete jungle that Singapore is. Back then, Singapore wasn’t quite that bad – it still had a bit of space, but now there’s nothing, you know? You can’t even kiss without someone else looking at you. It’s crazy! It’s like, where do you kiss now? You can’t make out at all in Singapore!
Can you tell me what life as an artist is like? Do you wake up every morning pursuing ideas and creating new art, or is it something more mundane?
I think I have actually dropped a lot of the lifestyle as an artist after switching to writing. Even when I am writing, I split my time between doing that and drawing very simple objects – my characters are basically stick figures.
