Synopsis:

FOST Gallery is delighted to present new works by Elaine Roberto-Navas, her inaugural solo exhibition with the gallery.

We Cannot Step Twice Into The Same River is the first part of a quote by Greek philosopher Heraclitus (c. 540 B.C.-c. 480 B.C.). In his Doctrine of Flux, this impossibility of a situation is explained because the river is ever flowing and the person ever changing.

Well-known for her lush landscapes, Roberto-Navas' new paintings are of the same subject matter but here, sky, water and earth are disconcertingly inverted, rendering the landscape almost abstract. But with persistent observation, the forms emerge and a scene appears before us.

Conceived and produced during the lockdown period in Singapore, these poignant new works are based on fellow artist Mawen Ong's photographs. The paintings are an expression of Roberto-Navas' sense of optimism during a time of uncertainty and anxiety. We are resilient and tenacious. We continue to embrace new perspectives to make sense of Life, in the hope that balance will once again be restored. If not without, then within us.