Consistently Inconsistent

Pic: Think Tank (2014) is a collaborative work with Roboticist Malaysia, supported by the National Art Gallery Malaysia.

 

You know the drill.
An artist hits gold—figuratively or literally—with a certain look. A brushstroke. A palette. A certain kind of blur.
Suddenly, everything must look like that.
Because that’s “your style,” darling. Your brand.

But here’s a thought:
What if your signature style is actually just... boredom wearing designer glasses?

The Cult of Consistency

In some art circles (and by circles, I mean collector dinner parties), consistency is the altar.
“Ah yes, I could spot their work from across the room,” someone says, as if it’s a compliment and not a threat.

But what they’re really saying is:
“I love how they keep doing the same thing over and over, slightly to the left.”

Enter the “recognizable artist”—blessed by galleries, followed by algorithms, cursed by their own success.

They’ve found their niche. Now they live in it.

The Signature That Moves

But what if your signature isn’t a brushstroke, but a question?
Not a color palette, but a pattern of curiosity?

Imagine an artist whose signature is:

Unpredictability
Intelligence over imitation
A riot in slow motion
A refusal to repeat just because it sells
A joy in contradiction
And yes—a willingness to confuse, unsettle, even delightfully disappoint

What if the only thing that tied your works together was you—your hand, your eye, your absurd joy in not being boxed?

 

Notes from the Other Side

Let’s say, hypothetically, that an artist exists who:

Melts things on purpose
Writes poetic nonsense on bandages
Turns percussion instruments into border documents
Has an alter ego who refuses to be defined by gender, nation, or CV

Now imagine this artist also exhibits internationally, touches people, confuses others, and stays free.

Sounds like a mess, right?

Sounds like freedom.

In Conclusion (If There Must Be One)

Signature styles are fine. Some artists make magic through repetition. But let’s not confuse consistency with depth.

And let’s definitely not confuse branding with meaning.

 

Sty-less is the new style

 

Inconsistency, executed with conviction.

Chaos, curated just enough to pass for clarity.

A thread that knots itself in memory rather than on canvas.

 

So yes, you can keep your signature style—or choose to keep evolving.

Wearing contradictions like a slightly stained bandage—stitched with joy, confusion, and maybe a quote overheard on a train.

 

Either way, I’ll take my signature of artistic freedom, lightly stained.

 

 

 

Work in progress 2025