Singaporean artist Khairulddin Wahab makes art that researches into colonial history, global trade routes, indigenous culture and how each of these intersect with the natural world.
Asian Artists to Watch Khairulddin Wahab
That interdisciplinary focus is evident in earlier works, such as Rite of Passage, which depicts a ghostly group of men waiting for a hot oil-bath ritual that would give them strength – it was the UOB Painting of the Year in 2018 – and in his more recent Grand Conjuration, in which tangible and incorporeal realms are blended. In Grand Conjuration, Khairulddin asks viewers to reconsider the artificial divide between humans and the natural world, an idea that plays into his overarching artistic philosophy of enchantment – viewers are invited to be re-enchanted by nature, to counter any disillusionment they may feel with the modern world.
Khairulddin Wahab, Grand Conjuration (2024)
Currently represented by Cuturi Gallery, Khairulddin has had solo shows in Singapore and group exhibitions in London, Shanghai and Jakarta, with a New York showing later this year. He’s currently studying Southeast Asia’s maritime history, examining how the region’s bodies of water are both a barrier and a global highway influencing its history, culture and understanding of its landscapes.
Last year, Khairulddin was selected as one of the world’s 100 Early Career Artists by the art market Artcube.
Header image: Khairulddin Wahab, Rite of Passage (2018)
