ABOUT
Roy Payamal (b. 1963) is a Singaporean street performer, performance artist, painter, poet and clown. Existing on the margins of society and of the art world, he embodies a raw, playful humanity in the face of the draconian nation-state he lovingly calls home. One of Singapore’s earliest and most enduring buskers, he has performed locally and internationally on the streets, in museums, and at festivals. Blurring the line between art and life, street and contemporary art, he expresses a wild search for freedom and joy while contemplating the human relationship with nature and the cosmos.
Roy started Singapore’s first juggling club at The Substation Garden and his early artistic trajectory was entwined with that of the historic art venue’s. In the 1990s-2000s he made numerous performance art pieces at Mime Unlimited and Plastique Kinetic Worms as well as performed as a member of Zai Kuning’s Metabolic Theatre Laboratory. He was invited to perform at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in 2003.
In 2015, Roy’s life was portrayed in the feature film Singapore Minstrel (2015). In 2021 he published STREET FOUND, his first collection of poetry, drawings and images. Pareidolia, his forthcoming and first solo exhibition at Art Outreach, presents his rebirth as a painter alongside new sculptures reflecting on the cosmos and the freedoms of buskers. He spends his free time in vernacular research, observing humans and creatures of his neighbourhood for his whimsical poetry and emotional, vivid paintings.
Contact - [email protected]
Roy started Singapore’s first juggling club at The Substation Garden and his early artistic trajectory was entwined with that of the historic art venue’s. In the 1990s-2000s he made numerous performance art pieces at Mime Unlimited and Plastique Kinetic Worms as well as performed as a member of Zai Kuning’s Metabolic Theatre Laboratory. He was invited to perform at Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in 2003.
In 2015, Roy’s life was portrayed in the feature film Singapore Minstrel (2015). In 2021 he published STREET FOUND, his first collection of poetry, drawings and images. Pareidolia, his forthcoming and first solo exhibition at Art Outreach, presents his rebirth as a painter alongside new sculptures reflecting on the cosmos and the freedoms of buskers. He spends his free time in vernacular research, observing humans and creatures of his neighbourhood for his whimsical poetry and emotional, vivid paintings.
Contact - [email protected]
Copyright Roy Payamal 2022