MANILA.- Gajah Gallery Manila presents Holding Structures, Soft Bodies, a group exhibition featuring rising artists Jemana Murti, Kayleigh Goh, and Sarah Choo Jing. Taking its departure from the familiar promise of structure, the exhibition considers how the frameworks that organise everyday life are shaped by the people, histories, and technologies that inhabit and transform them.
Holding Structures, Soft Bodies brings together sculpture, painting, photography, and video installations to examine how architectural, cultural, technological, and social structures are negotiated in everyday life, and what emerges as they shift.
Drawing from Balinese iconography, Jemana Murti uses Artificial Intelligence, 3D modelling, and digital fabrication to transform familiar cultural motifs. In several of his works, elements reminiscent of Balinese wood carvings—one of the island's longstanding and revered art forms—appear as blurred, pixel-like forms, softened and partially obscured. His works reflect on the persistence and transformation of cultural identity within an increasingly globalised and technologically mediated landscape.
In Kayleigh Goh's paintings, architectural forms become a means of framing how places are remembered and experienced. Her compositions create a sense of familiarity and estrangement, evoking the comfort and stability associated with built environments while leaving room for uncertainty and impermanence.
Singaporean artist Sarah Choo Jing explores the quiet theatre of everyday urban life. Known for her video works, she examines the gaze of the flneur, the dynamics of looking and being looked at, and the unspoken conventions that shape how people occupy shared spaces. Her work depicts recognisable moments and characters in contemporary urban society, suggesting a wealth of private, often solitary narratives. Through these encounters, Choo draws attention to the subtle ways people negotiate proximity, privacy, and connection within the spaces they share.
Jemana Murti (b. 1997, Bali, Indonesia)’s sculptural practice explores the relationship between cultural heritage and digital technologies. Drawing from Balinese iconography, he employs machine learning, 3D modelling, and digital fabrication to examine how cultural forms can be reinterpreted and reimagined. Jemana lives and works in Bali, Indonesia.
Kayleigh Goh (b. 1993, Johor Bahru, Malaysia) is known for her meditative, introspective works that explore the psychological and emotional resonance of space. Her practice invites viewers to pause and reflect, offering a moment of stillness amidst the rapid pace of urban life. Goh received her BA (Hons) in Fine Art from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore, and her MA in Contemporary Art from VCA, University of Melbourne. She lives and works in Melbourne, Australia.
Sarah Choo Jing (b. 1990, Singapore) is a multidisciplinary artist exploring solitude, spectatorship, and the uncanny through photography, video, and installation. Her works are held in collections including the Singapore Art Museum, the National Museum of Singapore, the Chrysler Museum of Art, and The Arts Club Permanent Collection in London. Choo holds an MFA from the Slade School of Art, London (2015), and is currently based in Singapore.
