Mark Chan | “Xin 心” Meditations on 心 — Heart + Mind

Courtesy of the artist and Ode to Art

Mark Chan is painter, calligrapher, composer and former National Swimmer. He studied fine arts at the Edinburgh College of Art and was Resident Composer of TheatreWorks for 10 years from 1989 to 1999. Chan has seven solo albums to his name under Warner (WEA), Polygram, BMG and Hori Productions. He completed a series of commissions for Singapore Arts Festival from 2003 to 2013 and has performed at venues across the world as part of various productions with international talents. In 2024, his ink painting Our Ancestors Came in Boats was presented to President Tharman at the 85^th Anniversary of Singapore Aquatics celebration.

This work is part of a series of studies on a single Chinese character. It is rooted in the artist’s personal spiritual practice, as a form of meditation and what Chan describes as a “soul conversation”. The character心 holds a dual meaning of both heart and mind, which are considered as one singular idea. Chan reflects on how the separation of heart and mind in language and modern society might be a telling comment on our social reality.