“Everything internal was once something external,” said Binti. The artist is a collector of fragments—a stranger’s phrase, a market vendor’s endearment, the silent poetry of a sunset—transforming them into artwork depicting human connection. At 27, she moves through the local scene with an identity woven with various threads, each a different language to express the affection she has for the world.
The artistic journey began not in a stark white gallery, but in a child’s gestures of love—letters with doodles for her mother. When she couldn’t find the right colour for her mother’s orange-streaked hair, a young Binti snipped rubber bands from takeout boxes into textured strands. Her mother’s laughter became the first formative review that would later encourage her to never stop exploring. This was her start—not under the cold label of “multidisciplinary artist”, but in the form of play.
That spirit remains a compass: “If my art career were a child, it’s a toddler now,” Binti mused, explaining that most of her works begin with asking “why”. This curiosity is a current that flows through every medium, whether photography, film, or poetry. For the creator, everything is a vessel because the conclusion is always the same: the world is a poetic verse.
MANOLO BLAHNIK, Shoes
The chosen name, Binti, means ‘daughter of’ in Arabic, serving as a reminder that she, beyond exhibitions and accolades, is first a family member. This role was never a boundary but instead, a wellspring, allowing her to delve into the complexity of familial bonds through her artworks. A relative’s dismissive comment—“Entah apa”, what nonsense is this—for instance, was once an external wound that the artist reclaimed years later, with cut-outs from scraps of past work, used to sculpt the very letters of Entah Apa. “They’re not wrong,” came the reflective reply. “It could be nonsense to some, and it could also be a lot of things to others.”
In a time where you get “the worst and the best in one scroll”, Binti dances to her own beats. She learns the internet lingo as a language of connection, not a label of an age cohort; she perceives shaping identity as inherently performative. “Participating in society itself is a performance”, she quipped. A line on her personal blog reads, “obsession beats talent every time”, a quote the dean of her film school once shared. Being an artist requires more than mere talent, and this obsession is the constructive force in a world prone to destruction. “I’m obsessed to the point where I feel my authenticity sits between real and performative. I’m aware of it. There’s a fine line between the two, like the Joker and the Judge”, she said. Perhaps, obsession is to her a form of discipline that leads the creative soul to be “exactly the kind of person that I say I am”.
A background in film and Malay literature equipped the artist with a collaborator’s heart that sees every paradox as a conversation between disciplines. Her generation’s art sounds like jazz—a genre she personally enjoys—with improv but also intuitive count. It’s a bottomless buffet where everyone enjoys without restriction and is connected by threads that later form communities, and the one she cultivated is an intelligent group that challenges and inspires her, eventually a contributor to her ecosystem.
So for Binti, a “Bright Young Thing” has nothing to do with the 1920s decadence that originally defined the term. Instead, brightness is seen as the connection that helps others recognise their light. Her greatest achievement is never a single exhibition or pinch-me moment, but the child with the rubber bands, “My younger self would want to be me when she grows up.” The best poem she crafted was how she is now an adult who would protect that curious and playful child, opening a genuine conversation with the world, where hands are never held behind the back, the glass is removed, and the work remains unframed.
Photography: Sarah Hobbs
Styling & Creative Direction: Joseph Cheng
Art Direction: Nadia Aswardy
Hair: VV Chan, Zac Lee, Philex Chin, Cody Chua
Makeup: Eranthe Loo, Crystal Fong (Plika Makeup)
Styling Assistants: Sarah Chong, Lorraine Chai, Maryssa Helmi
Photography Assistants: Ayiesha Almas, Brandan Simon
READ MORE