Who are you?

I am Chloë Manasseh-Benjamin. I am British and Israeli, currently residing in Singapore with my family. 

What is your creative area of expertise?

I am a fine artist and art psychotherapist. Within fine art I work between painting, installation and film, but painting is my first love. As an Art Psychotherapist I specialise in working with children and adults, with a range of challenges from trauma and anxiety to ASD and ADHD. I also volunteer, and am currently the Art Therapy advisor for Heartland Literature, an outreach programme for children in foster care. 

Main inspiration?

My new series of works explore the complexity of emotions surrounding my transition into motherhood, through the lens of my Jewish identity. The works question what it means to be a mother in an increasingly uncertain world; a vessel, a protector, a food source and a partner, within an ever-shifting and expanding identity and set of responsibilities. 

Tell us a little bit about the work you chose to share

I am a British Israeli artist, with familial roots in Morocco, Iraq, Portugal, Britain, Israel, India, and Singapore. ‘Gan Gani’ was originally exhibited in a solo exhibition called CASA in Art Porters Gallery, Singapore, which reflected on my maternal connection to Casablanca and my Sephardic Jewish heritage. The artworks in CASA delved into Jewish folklore, which much like memory or landscapes, are imprecise and subject to change, exploring memories of absence, the value of tradition and connection. I am interested in the imprecision of memory and the process by which imagination can intrude on physical space, exploring perceptions of identity, connection and rootedness within a given landscape. 

What is your work process?

It varies, however with painting specifically I love to do research and will often fill a sketch book with notes and painting ideas before I start a new series. I spend a lot of time preparing my surface to paint, and am lucky to have a wonderful studio in Singapore where I can disconnect from the world and focus. 

One special moment that happened to you this year

I connected with an author, Tammar Stein, in Singapore whilst doing a mural based on one of her books with school children in Singapore, and she invited me to illustrate a children’s book she is writing. I am currently working on the illustrations, and the book will be coming out in the fall of 2025!

A piece of advice

Life can lead you down many different paths, and it’s okay to have multiple passions and welcome the changes that come with them.

What’s next?

I am currently illustrating a children’s book, and I have 5 paintings from my Mother Series being exhibited next month in Singapore with Intersections Gallery.