ONGOING WORK
Wander and Wonder Creative
2018–
Wander and Wonder Creative is an independent design and craft brand founded in 2018 that started out using live in-situ sketching as an ethnographic tool during storygathering field research trips. With independent publishing as its starting point, using food themes and slow journalism to begin conversations about overlooked Southeast Asian narratives, the brand and the artist has since expanded its range, experimenting with analogue zine-making techniques, silkscreen printing, acrylic painting, playing with everyday objects and waste material, and the merging of techniques.
Diverse in its approaches and deliverables, Wander and Wonder Creative’s constant is its founding core interests in the decolonisation/uncolonisation of narratives and knowledge as well as collective movements for change. To create beyond the self and beyond surface narratives as part of the ripple effect. To use art as a tool for meaningful observation and community connection. To ultimately wander and wonder beyond the pages/canvas/studio.
With a focus on tactile, in-person experience, Wander and Wonder Creative made its public debut at the 2025 Kuala Lumpur International Art Book Fair, showcasing its range of original artworks, illustrations, handstitched zines and independent publications. Wander and Wonder Creative started off and remains as a one-woman project to date.
Selected projects from Wander and Wonder Creative
Project titles: SPACE and A Safe Space No Longer
Category: Art book / Textual work / Publication
SPACE (Oct, 2025) — 16 pages
A collection of seven artworks produced by the artist between 2024-25. The use of whitespace throughout the book’s layout serve as pauses, giving
space and time to the reader to reflect on the text, artwork, or within.
Photos above, L-R: SPACE (art book) front cover, SPACE (content spread, featuring artworks, acrylic on paper), SPACE and A Safe SPACE No Longer
Project title: Microdozine: Uncolonizine Series I (Nov 2025)
Category: Mixed media / Publication / Zine
Microdozine: Uncolonizine Series I
Debuted at the Kuala Lumpur International Art Book Fair 2025
Measurements, approximate:
Individual zine: ~ 2.5 x 2 x 0.3 cm
Accordion folder (when folded with zines): ~2.7 x 2.2 x 1.3cm
Resealable PU sleeve: 4 x 5 x 1.5cm
Per zine: Page count 10, including front and back covers
Medium: Paper (various), acrylic sheets and accessories, metal
hardware, assembled entirely by hand
15 unidentical sets, cut/folded/hammered/produced by hand
A collection of micro-zines that presents ideas on uncolonising narratives in a form that reflects the current attention span of the audience (bite-sized and trinket seeking/collecting).
The insert, titled, For the Use Only by Individuals who are Open to Growth and Willing to Question (Everything) is laser-printed on architect’s tracing paper, modelled after a medication instruction sheet, is a satirical delivery of precautions of falling into a state of apathy upon “overdosing” whereby “side effects may also include questioning or narratives and the inability to ‘unsee.'”
Project title: Forgotten Traits
Category: Mixed media / Publication / Textile / Textual
Debuted at the Kuala Lumpur International Art Book Fair 2025
Materials/process/description: Thrifted and found materials (polyester, acrylic, steel), stitched and embroidered by hand. A response to the hyper-consumption of hobbies on social media that focuses on the acquisition of materials and hobby gear in search of audience approval. The intentional “typo” on the front cover signals the traits lost in authentic hobby-making, which include trading in community instead of hoarding in isolation. Two fabric variations produced alongside limited handstitched paper zine versions (not pictured).
PLATES Magazine
2019-
Hyperlocal yet globally relevant. Exploring stories in everyday ingredients
Wander and Wonder Creative’s maiden independent publication, PLATES Magazine—an international inaugural food culture journal with a focus on Southeast Asian narratives, replates seemingly overwhelming issues into digestible formats—has been exhibited and presented in various cities in Asia and Europe, and has received national and international art and writing awards.
PLATES, Vol.1: Rice (2019)
PLATES, Vol.2: Durian (2020)
PLATES, Vol.3: Water (2020)—produced with micro-grant award by INXO Arts Award Fund 2019
PLATES, Vol.4: Seeds (2021)—largely produced (layout, writing, editing) during six-month artist residency at Rimbun Dahan; cover story awarded IACP 2022 Award
Print run: 1000 copies
Pages: 80 – 104 pages
Measurements: 15.9 x 23.4cm
Printing: Off-set, full-colour
Paper: Art card (cover); simile (inside)
Finish: Matte lamination; thread bound, UV spot (cover, Vol.1: Rice)
Elements within the PLATES project: textual, storytelling, narratives, watercolour live sketches, photography (street, portrait, editorial, still life)
Process and distribution: PLATES is an independent inaugural publication designed, photographed, illustrated, edited and produced by the artist, who also personally pitches and distributes PLATES to selected speciality bookstores and art spaces, including, but not limited to: Reading Room (Milan, Italy), Now Serving (Los Angeles, CA, USA), Ilham Art Gallery’s gift store (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Art Lane (George Town, Penang, Malaysia), Bon Ton Resort (Langkawi Island, Kedah, Malaysia), Wormhole (Singapore) and Papercut (Stockholm, Sweden).
PLATES is a culture journal that combines food themes with slow journalism, seeking out overlooked stories that are hyperlocal yet globally relevant. Stories are
gathered in-person, often with the use of in-situ sketching as a way of respectful ethnographic research. The project carries the belief in the power of food to
transcend boundaries—be they societal, cultural, or geopolitical.
@platesmagazine
platesmagazine.com
plates.substack.com
antara Art and Accessories
somewhere between art and accessories
[‘antara’ (Malay) — ‘between’ ]
2025–
In early 2025, Wander and Wonder Creative launched antara Art and Accessories, a handcrafted retail brand that navigates between the artist’s yearn to create accessible and wearable art pieces, such as handpainted t-shirts and one-of-a-kind sculptural accessories made of stainless steel. Existing somewhere between art and accessories, antara was created as a safe space for the child who was always told they couldn’t, so they didnt—until now. antara Art and Accessories has been selected by art fairs and art market curators to participate as an exhibiting vendor at various arts, culture and design-focused events.