Known for the Box Boy character, C.K. Koh creates works where documentary gaze and the poetry of memory overlap, and fragments of the past are quietly reorganized on the canvas. This interview explores how this series differs from his previous work and examines how texture and choices of moments shape the passage of time within his pieces.

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- The title of this exhibition is called Folded Glimpse, what does it mean to “fold” a memory? Do you believe memory becomes more truthful or more fictional over time?

C.K. Koh: To me, the 'folding' happens naturally in our minds. It’s how we store years of life in such a small space. Those glimpses are already tucked away in those folds.

This series, Folded Glimpses, is actually about the process of unfolding them. I believe memory becomes more honest as it settles into those folds. The small, unfiltered details might blur, but the emotional truth stays sharp. A photograph might remember the exact time of day, but a folded memory remembers the warmth from the hand I hold or the specific feeling of the air. It might become less of a record, but it becomes more of a truth.

C.K.Koh “Crying out Love in The Center of Jungle” Close Up

- In the Folded Glimpse series, you have mentioned “moving away from the rigid boundaries of documentary realism,” at what point does your artwork stop being a record and become a memory? What possibilities opened up for you once you loosened that attachment to faithful representation?

Koh: My artwork stops being a record the moment I stop counting the details and start painting the 'breath' of the scene. The record is cold. It captures everything equally. A memory is selective. It filters out the noise and keeps only the essence. When I let go of needing to be faithful to a photograph, it opened up so much room for atmosphere.

I realized I didn't need to paint every brick or leaf to make someone feel the weight of a place. I just needed to capture the finest emotion within and let it flow and breathe naturally.

Whitestone Gallery Singapore

- You describe your series as a fleeting gift. What makes a fleeting moment worthy of being held? What do you think you will gain and lose in the process?

Koh: A moment is worthy of being held if it changes something inside you, even for a second. Like a glance from a train window that stays with me for many years. In the process of painting it, I intentionally let go of certain details and lost the sharpness of the original event, but I gained a deeper understanding of why it mattered. I gained a piece of myself that was tucked away in that glimpse.

- The motif “Box Boy” reappears across time in your practice. How is this series Folded Glimpse different from your previous series? Is there a particular piece of work that carries the emotional weight of the exhibition?

Koh: I think before, my work was much more about tackling the present. It was about what was happening right in front of me. In this series, he’s more of a quiet witness to these internal shifts as I unfold my memories. The difference is that we aren't looking at the 'now' anymore; we are looking at what we’ve carried with us over the last ten years.

Crossing Paths is the anchor for this show. It’s based on that moment of two trains passing, in that split second where you catch a reflection and wonder if you're looking at the past version of yourself or the future one. It carries the emotional weight of the whole archive because it’s about that realization that we are always moving through different versions of ourselves.

Whitestone Gallery Singapore

- In Crossing Paths, the landscape feels familiar yet unattainable. How do you paint something that resists being fully located? Your brushwork often softens edges, as if memory is dissolving the scene. Is this blurring a conscious act of editing?

Koh: I don’t really see it as editing. I see it as being honest about how we actually experience life. When you’re on a moving train, the world doesn’t have hard edges.

And when you look back at a memory, you don’t see a high-definition image. You see a gesture, a glow of light, or a feeling. Softening the edges is just my way of letting the work breathe. It reflects how these moments stay with us. Familiar, but always just a little bit out of reach.

- When you are preparing for your Folded Glimpse exhibition, do you sense any new questions or impulses beginning to surface in your practice? Will you be interested in exploring more art types or techniques?

Koh: I’m becoming really interested in how the environment itself can help tell the story.

I’ve been thinking a lot about ways to let the natural light or the atmosphere leave a physical trace on the work, so the process isn't just about me and the brush. It feels like a natural next step, instead of just painting a memory, I’m looking for ways to let the world actually participate in the process of unfolding. I want to see how the environment can mark a moment, making the act of 'holding' a glimpse feel even more alive and connected to the world we’re moving through right now.

Whitestone Gallery Singapore

What comes through in this interview is C.K. Koh’s approach of treating memory not as simple reproduction but as material for reconstruction. By easing documentary precision and using recurring motifs like Box Boy to articulate overlapping layers of time and the spaces between emotions, he invites viewers to revisit their memories and uncover new interpretations.

Through Reverie: Love and Memory A Duo-solo Exhibition by Clasutta and C.K.Koh