Born in 1965 in Singapore, Boo Sze Yang graduated from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Singapore in 1991, completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art at the University of Reading, UK in 1995, and received his Master in Arts Degree from the University of the Arts London, UK in 2005. A prolific painter, not bound by any tradition or style, Boo treats banal objects, serene interiors or destructive scenes as though metaphors for the human condition. He has held ten solo exhibitions and represented Singapore in numerous group exhibitions in Japan, China, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia and UK. ‘The Mall 25 (Paragon, Singapore)’ stems from a collection of paintings of Singapore’s iconic shopping malls and marks a departure from the ‘House of God’ series that featured interior spaces of churches. In Boo’s view, these shopping malls are considered as the new ‘temple’ for Singaporeans. ‘The Mall 25 (Paragon, Singapore)’ shows Boo’s continued interest in the perception of space. His focus on escalators that transport shoppers upwards within the cavenous light-filled atrium and inspire awe akin to a religious experience, draws a comparison to how space is conceived in churches and shopping malls.
