We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Pepi Ng a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Pepi, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

Honestly, as I am still a student, I’m not sure if I’m the best candidate to answer this question. However, for me, success currently means doing things that I’m proud of, and doing things that I think are right for myself! I think that being open to trying new things and being experimental has definitely allowed me to discover more about myself and develop a new perspective of my environment and surroundings, and that gives me a lot of fulfilment every day.

I also think that trusting your gut, passion and the process are very important as well. In my design practice, my passion leans more towards physical computing and hardware. Sometimes I get afraid that I am missing out on the more “practical” opportunities and career paths such as UIUX/ Web design. But I also realized that I find the most joy in hardware, and that’s always something I instinctively go for. And though some people might say that physical computing/ hardware is not the most pragmatic option in the design industry, but I do think that focusing on something you’re passionate about and finding your own niche are important, and makes you stand out from the rest of the crowd as well. Moreover, if you’re doing what you’re passionate in, you’ll create a more sustainable career path for yourself and your mental health as well!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a multi-disciplinary creative technologist that creates mainly interactive and experimental installations. I love everything to do with the intersection between design and technology and am currently passionate about physical computation and Extended Reality (XR) and the possibilities they can bring. I enjoy mixing different mediums in my work- in most of my projects, I make use of a combination of 3D-modelling, hardware, programming, web design, generative art and creative coding. In my creative practice, In my creative practice, I try to explore thought-provoking concepts that relate to the broader society.

I am born and raised in Singapore, and my experiences growing up has shaped a lot of concepts behind my work. I also love exploring concepts and themes related to food politics, culture and sustainability.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being a creative is the learning that comes with it. Most of my art is conceptual, and I try to use my art as a platform to convey a social, or political standpoint. However, I am only able to do so if I am able to understand the ways in which the topic that I wish to explore relate to different stakeholders. I derive a lot of joy talking to, and learning from, the different ways people around me think about different topics, and how they are affected by them. I always find that they are able to bring new perspectives that I’ve never thought of before, and I discover so much more about myself and my standpoints by talking to them too.

I also love learning from my peers, and the people in my industry. I love collaborating with people, as I am always able to be inspired, and motivated by, their rigour and work ethic and I find myself achieving so much more than if I just worked alone. I also think that communicating my thought process with someone else is extremely useful for me to understand what I want from the project, and how to get there.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am still trying to figure this one out. But most of the projects I’m most passionate about relate to a community I relate to- whether that be the Singaporean community, South East Asian community, or people who are women-presenting. As most of my projects make use of physical computation, I am fully aware of the amount of physical and electrical resources I’m using for a single project. I hence try to make sure that my projects are at least educational, relatable, or spark any form of thought in the user, and that the user can bring this new perspective to other aspects in their lives.

This might sound selfish, but one of the main factors driving my creative journey is also my desire to process, or learn more about my own surroundings and experiences, and relate my perspective to the user. As I only moved to New York two years ago for college, I’m still in the process of comparing and contrasting my experiences in Singapore and New York, and how the cities are organized, structured and engineered differently. I also love engaging in conversations about what it means to belong to somewhere, and why certain social structures work better for certain individuals and not others. I realize that I am able to engage in more of such conversations by creating projects that I relate strongly to, and am passionate about, and I wish to continue doing so.

Contact Info:

• Website: poopsypepi.com
• Instagram: @pepzicles
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pepi-yi-qing-ng-291a081ba/
• Youtube: @Wormi Collective

Image Credits
Image 1: “Build-Your-Own-Techno-Oriental World”, exhibited in Grace Exhibition Space NYC Image 2: “Execution”, exhibited in Grace Exhibition Space NYC Image 3: VR Haptic Jaw at MIT Reality Hack 2023. My group consisted of Grace Park, Julia Daser, Eloise Yalozitser, Beatriz Ribeiro Image 4: Interactive Laser Harp with Julia Daser Image 5, 8: DickHub with Julia Daser Image 6: Effects of Touch. Thank you to Julia Daser for helping to document my project. Image 7: National Day Parade Singapore. Production Studio: Finding Pictures Singapore