Lin Ting Ting (who also goes by the name of White Eyes Mumu), is an interior designer, in her free time you can find her drawing and sketching on the MRT and in cafes. She describes her work as ridiculously flat, ‘it can be ugly and cute with a sense of humour’. At Branches Art Market she will be selling postcards of her illustrations with some accompanied by short pieces of writing.
Lin Ting Ting
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We asked White Eyes Mumu a few questions about her work...
Your illustrations often have a reoccurring character – turns out it’s you! What made you decide to draw yourself and use yourself as the main figure in your artwork?
My inspirations come from my daily life, so subconsciously I started to depict myself in my illustrations.
Where do you find inspiration to draw?
I often find inspiration from my encounters, whether its moments with my friends, strangers, news, dreams and exhibitions etc., all kinds of things are my source of inspiration.
You have only been drawing for two years now, what made you take up this hobby and how have you managed to refine a very particular style in such a short amount of time?
In the beginning, in order to stop taking up a new hobby and then doing it halfhearted, I challenged myself to post illustrations on Instagram continuously for 30 days. Gradually, I got used to doing it. After a period of time and from receiving positive support and feedback from my close and unfamiliar friends, it urged me to create more and better drawings.
At the beginning when I had no idea about drawing, I surfed on the internet for images to inspire me and turn it into my spectacular illustrations with poignant meaning.
How has your work and style changed over these two years? How did you decide ‘this is it, this is the style that I want to keep as White Eyes Mumu for now’?
At first, I drew with watercolour, but it took more time and was difficult to juggle with working late. In order to sleep earlier, I changed the colourful style into black and white. The change made me draw quicker and meant I could draw anywhere, even while I was commuting! This simultaneously improved the quality of my life and increased the detail in my illustrations.
By day you work as an interior designer, in your most recent drawings you have started to included buildings and architecture in your work, do you think this has anything to do with your day job?
Honestly, there's no direct relationship between my job and my illustration. Most of the time, I just want to record the moment with the environment. For example, on my birthday this year, I drew the restaurant because I wanted to vividly depict the delicious meal and nice atmosphere with friends.