What Doesn't Kill You: Recent Works by Hélène Le Chatelier and Sunaina Bhalla
Hélène Le Chatelier and Sunaina Bhalla, curated by Dr Michelle Lim
Group Exhibition
8 - 16 Mar 2025, 11am - 7pm (daily), except 12 March till 9pm
"What Doesn’t Kill You" is more than just an art exhibition—it’s a powerful testament to the indomitable spirit of women in the arts. This exhibition of new works by Singapore- based artists Hélène Le Chatelier and Sunaina Bhalla runs from 8-16 March 2025 at Art Outreach Singapore and is timed to coincide with International Women’s Day 2025.
Curated by Dr Michelle Lim, the exhibition includes embroidered drawings, photo-based works, sound and site-specific installations. Sunaina’s practice is a bold and playful experimentation in materials and textures, drawing in part from the challenges she has overcome as a breast cancer survivor. Hélène’s works hint at the tensions of trauma in unspoken encounters through complex layers of text, image and sound. The female body – simultaneously fragile and indestructible, beautiful in its natural imperfections
and the delicate tracing of scars from healed ruptures – is a central motif.
"What Doesn’t Kill You" celebrates the strength and resilience of women artists who have navigated a fine balance between their personal and professional challenges. Together in conversation for the first time, Hélène and Sunaina’s works show how what doesn’t kill you will not only make you stronger, it can be a rich resource and generous inspiration for creating beauty in art.
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"What Doesn’t Kill You" is the inaugural project produced by Art Linguistics as part of their Faceted Women in the Arts initiative. The initiative opens up spaces of expression for women in the arts to lead in vital conversations about the issues that concern us. A portion of the proceeds from selected artworks will be donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation and PAVE, reinforcing our commitment to supporting women and communities affected by trauma and adversity.
The exhibition and public programming is hosted by Art Outreach as part of their hearth initiative. The project is also supported by BV Initiatives, FUJIFILM, NAC Tote Board Arts Fund and the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) Singapore. Special thanks to Dr Anna Lovecchio, Colin Wan, Dina Nerina, Hazel Seah, Jimin Lee, Dr Karin Oen, Syahrudin Pasha Dasa, Vernice Chua, Verson Ong, Yifei Chen, and the students assisting from the AP6103 and the HR3002 modules at NTU.
Public Programming
Sunday afternoon workshops with the artists will be held on 9 March and 16 March 2025, and a panel conversation will be hosted by the NTU CCA on the evening of 12 March 2025.
• Sun 9 March 2025, 3 – 5pm Artist Workshop with Hélène Le Chatelier
• Wed 12 March 2025, 7pm Panel Talk with NTU CCA Curator Dr Anna Lovecchio
• Sun 16 March 2025, 3 – 5pm Artist Workshop with Sunaina Bhalla
Pre-registration for workshops on Eventbrite.
https://tinyurl.com/HeleneLeChatelier
https://tinyurl.com/SunainaBhalla
https://tinyurl.com/PanelwithNTUCCA
About the Artist(s)
Hélène Le Chatelier
Hélène Le Chatelier studied Art in Paris at l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Appliqués et des Métiers d’Art, Olivier de Serres, where she graduated in Fine Art Fresco painting with honours. Since her very first exhibition in Paris in 1997, Hélène has embraced various modes of expression (painting, sculpture, photography, video, installation, writing). Best known for her ink bodyscapes and her works with paper engaging writing and abstract landscapes, Hélène studies the influence of memory and social context on our intimate space. She currently lives and works in Singapore and her work has been showcased in exhibitions in Singapore, Bangkok, Tokyo, Paris, Bordeaux, Seattle and New York.
https://www.helenelechatelier.com
Sunaina Bhalla
Sunaina Bhalla is a contemporary artist of Indian origin, living in Singapore for more than twenty years. Educated in India, she moved to Tokyo in the late 90’s and has spent the last two decades in various parts of North and South Asia. She completed her MFA degree from Goldsmiths University, London and Lasalle College of the Arts. Trained as a textile designer, Sunaina later pursued an immersive education in the traditional art form of Nihonga in Japan, where she spent five years studying under Suiko Ohta-sensei of the Kyoshin-Do school. She is also deeply interested in printing processes as a contemporary visual language and runs traditional Indian wood block printing workshops in Singapore, Myanmar, Indonesia, America and Australia. Sunaina’s works have been exhibited in Japan, India, Singapore, Europe and the Middle East.
https://sunainabhalla.com
Curator Bio - Dr Michelle Lim
Dr Michelle Lim is a noted art historian, curator and writer working in the field of contemporary art and exhibition histories. She served on the curatorial advisory board for the 2016 Singapore Biennale and has curated exhibitions at The Kitchen in New York and the Substation in Singapore, among others. Michelle’s co-edited anthology American Art in Asia (Routledge, 2022) challenged long-held notions about identity constructs and examined the impact of America’s cultural hegemony. She is currently working on a research project about cultural ecologies in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea, a historic region that has been reshaped by contemporary art festivals like the Setouchi Art Triennial.
