Hein Koh’s sculptures and paintings are as whimsical as they are witty - raising social commentary through a cast of anthropomorphic fruit and veg. Playing on the idea that parents chide children to ‘eat their vegetables,’ Koh’s sarcasm-suffused characters are far from symbols of healthy living. Broccoli, carrots, watermelons and a host of other foods are depicted crying, smoking and drinking to explore mental health in modern society. Themes of childhood and innocence are heightened by the cartoonish aesthetic, while bright colour palettes draw inspiration from the artist’s experience as a mother. Materials like spandex, glitter and vinyl are used to create soft sculptures with an enticing sense of fleshy plasticity.
Gender stereotypes surface throughout Koh’s practice, which sits within a movement of contemporary female surrealists including Julie Curtiss, Genesis Belanger and Emily Mae Smith. Her characters are often feminised and fetishised, wearing fishnets and heels while reclining ‘provocatively.’ Toying with the idea that women are simultaneously expected to be virtuous and hyper-sexualised, her characters are both wholesomely nutritious and sexually lewd. Despite the often serious undercurrents of her work, Koh relishes in a distinctly personal sense of humour — fully embracing the absurd surrealism of her plant-based practice.