Instagram: @times.new.romance

 

1. What’s your story? Where are you from?

I´m Sheena Liam, I´m from Malaysia and I picked up embroidering during my downtime travelling around for modelling.

2. Tell us about your aesthetic.

It´s quite minimal. I try to let the subject and figures emote in the audiences heads.

3. What is your favourite medium and why?

I love embroidery but there is a rawness and ephemerality in charcoal drawings. They don´t keep or last, it brings a certain freedom.

4. What is your artistic process like?

I try to get inspired. I look at a lot of images online, people watching etc. It starts off with a photograph of myself usually in the poses I wish to embroider, then a sketch on the canvas before I start my embroidery.

5. Who and/or what inspires your work?

A lot of different things. Sometimes the figures come first, sometimes the image. I like drawing inspiration from many different sources.

6. What role does art play in your life? How does it change the way you view the world?

In a way it´s given me a sort of control back. Modelling is fun but you are often the canvas for other people, rarely in control of any creative input. Both I enjoy immensely and both bring beauty into everyday life.

7. Where did you study?

I studied communications in Malaysia. My parents made me finish my bachelors degree before I was allowed to model internationally.

8. Where do you see yourself in five years?

I wish to keep creating, I want to experiment with so many ideas and mediums. They´re all in here and hopefully they can get out.

9. What about in ten?

I wouldn´t know. I might change paths altogether. I never saw art as a valid thing to pursue until about a year ago.

10. What do you hope to achieve with your art?

I´m not sure. But when you are not sure, anything is something.

11. Now, tell us a little more about you as a person: what is your favourite food?

I´ll eat anything. I´m not picky about it, I´ve had fried tarantulas, fermented tofu, I´ll even try a pop tart once.

12. Favourite book?

I have a bunch. Charles Bukowski writes silly though, like he doesn´t care so I quite like his works.

13. Favourite genre of music?

It really depends on how I feel.

14. What are your hobbies?

Staying in bed, I play the guitar and the ukulele, I used to play the piano for many years as a child but I feel that´s leaving me for lack of practice.

15. If you weren’t a creative, what would you be?

I don´t know. I could do anything really. I never really cared. I always figured if I failed at everything I tried to achieve I could go work in a nice cafe and I would still be happy.