volume 15, number 1, 2020

About the cover artwork

Aletheia Lynne Tan, Responding Anew, 2019, air-dry clay and image, size variable.

Artist statement

This image captures the creation of response art I made to contain a difficult account shared in confidence by a dear friend. I had just started out as an art therapist trainee (with LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore) and was introduced to response art. As a sculptor, my practice entails good planning and capacity to work with a sizeable volume of raw materials; the finished work can often take days/weeks to materialise, refine before becoming a worthy exhibit. Response art is different, the art flows right out. The immediacy of such aesthetic expression is strangely charged, powerful and liberating all at once, as it mirrors and contains that which is within and without. Encountering this deep form of artmaking has since brought forth greater flow, spontaneity and play in my media exploration, evolving my dialogue with art as I venture to weave my aesthetics pursuits with art therapy. 

About the artist

  • PGDipEduc, BA

    Aletheia Lynne Tan (ALT) is an artist training to be an art therapist, and currently works with people recovering from substance use disorder. A mother of three, she was an art educator involved in youth work for more than a decade before pivoting to art therapy. An avid learner, she believes art-making is a doorway to discoveries. She loves travelling with other artists to make art. With art therapy, she is keen to explore how such artmaking trips can birth new meanings to fellow artists and the locals. ALT’s art pieces have been exhibited in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and India.