Ubah Rumah Residency Artist

‍Samantha Mintio

As a visual artist with a profound foundation in analog photography, Mintio seamlessly blends traditional lens-based techniques with avant-garde approaches. She has developed distinctive aesthetic qualities with the medium that transcends conventional boundaries of photography. Through a meticulous interplay of materials, alternative photography techniques, and a keen exploration of the extended image, Mintio's work is a compelling journey through the realms of time, personal narratives, spatial and social dynamics.

At the heart of Mintio's practice is a fascination with the manipulation of time. Her early photographic series, “Concrete Euphoria” was created through the use of large format photography and a performative approach to capturing light from urban landscapes. Through layering and condensing temporal fragments onto various surfaces, the artist captures time and space as an invitation for viewers to contemplate the fluidity of time itself. This artistic approach to analog photography can also be seen Mintio’s largest public artworks at the Orchard Station of the Thomson East Coast Line.

Mintio's works, often presented large-scale, create immersive experiences. Her works “Penghibur Hati Lara (Solace for the Heart)” commissioned by the Asian Film Archive and “The Currents We Call Home (Arus Berlabuh Kita)” Some of her pieces extend into the realm of installation, transforming spaces into dynamic environments that engage the senses and challenge perceptions. The scale of Mintio's creations amplifies the impact of the intricate layers and textures, inviting viewers to explore the nuances within each piece.

Mintio’s artworks have been acquired by Google, Singapore Art Museum, NUS Museum and by the Art in Embassies (AIE), a U.S. Department of State program. She has also exhibited at global venues such as Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing), National Gallery of Victoria (Melbourne), National Museum of Modern & Contemporary Art (Seoul) & San Domenico Museum (Forlì, Italy). She has also been commissioned by the Busan Biennale Committee, Singapore Art Museum and Land Transport Authority Singapore.

As a broadening of her practice as a visual artist, Mintio is an educator at Nanyang Technological University and at the National Gallery Singapore. She is also the Co:Founder and Chief of Communities at Co:Creation Workshop, a social enterprise that provides experimental art education programmes to schools, corporations and Voluntary Welfare Organisations. Mintio is passionately engaged in leveraging art experiences to activate awareness towards inclusive practices and create meaningful dialogues. The commitment to inclusivity is reflected in Mintio's former role as the Founding Artistic Director of the Ketemu Project in Bali, Indonesia, from 2015 to 2019. During this time, Mintio established creative exchanges through residency programs and initiated groundbreaking creative entrepreneurship programs to demonstrate the value of disabled individuals' participation in Indonesia's creative economies.

The artistic journey of Mintio is a testament to the constant evolution and reinvention within the realm of visual art. Through a fusion of photography, material exploration, alternative techniques, education, and community engagement, Mintio invites audiences to embark on a sensory and intellectual exploration, where the boundaries of time and space are interlaced and distorted, and art becomes a catalyst for positive change and inclusivity.