School of Creative
Industries
Natalie Ang
Natalie believes in the intrinsic power of art-making, how transformation and healing takes place through creative expression and genuine connection. She recognises journeys of becoming, healing and growth as a process that is as dynamic and active as it is deep and expansive.
In her own expanding art practice, Natalie found a new connection with embracing process-driven work, exploring with mixed media and intuitive mark-making. An active trust in the process guides her person-centred clinical practice as she seeks to hold compassionate and empowering spaces for journeying within.
As part of her clinical training, Natalie had the honour and privilege of journeying with adult persons with mental health issues and children in the child protective service. Prior to her training in art therapy, Natalie worked for four years in a social service organisation focused on community-based work with youths, especially those facing adversities.
Work
Embracing Becoming
Ink and embroidery thread on canvas and linen fabric
102 x 129 cm, 118 x 270 cm
2023
Embracing Becoming is a mixed media artwork that reflects the artist’s deeply personal experience of self-discovery and formation of her art therapist identity. Each ink and thread mark made on the fabric of liminality represents the complex and nuanced parallel process of the artist diving into her inner world, learning to trust her intuition and senses.
The artist’s active trust in the process of embodied creation revealed itself to be intrinsically connected to the process of learning to trust in herself and find her voice. By honouring the delicate and profound inner journey of learning to be, Embracing Becoming invites viewers to reflect on their own experiences of growth and self-discovery.
Thesis abstract
Art therapy in a specialised community-based centre in Singapore: Nurturing resilience in children with experiences of trauma
This qualitative, practitioner-based thesis is guided by the research question: how does art therapy support the nurturance of resilience in children with experiences of abuse and neglect? Through a single-case discussion within a Singaporean context, the author explores how art therapy can facilitate emotional expression, foster a sense of safety, and support the strengthening of resilience in this client population. Art therapy and the use of symbolic play with children provides a suitable context for co-regulation, release of pent-up energy, integration and learning new socio-emotional skills for children with experiences of early developmental trauma. Data collected and documented suggests that suitable art materials and active artistic engagement contained within the therapeutic relationship can become imbued with personal meaning, enabling children to express and re-imagine challenging personal experiences into empowering narratives. These findings have significant implications for the field of art therapy, practitioners and educators who work with children with experiences of trauma in Singapore and beyond.