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Hours before the opening of his debut solo exhibition at JPLive! Space on Sept. 18, as crew members put the final touches around him, Abell Octovan was saying he still does not feel like an artist.
The exhibition, in fact, is called Am I an Artist.
(Courtesy of Aqraa Sagir)
Abell has been making art since 2008, when he began creating collectible vinyl art toys that riff on classic imagery and modern pop culture. His interest in the form began two years earlier, in 2006, with a chance encounter with designer toys.
“Designer toys are something I still relate to memories of my childhood playing with my toys,” he says.
By 2010, he was selling them. Which means that, by now, he has been at this for 16 years.
And yet the question in the title is not rhetorical. He means it. To be an artist, he thinks, requires a strong foundation.
“I did not have that. I did not have education in the arts, and I did not grow up with artists as friends. Everything I did was on my own terms to create to the best of my abilities. Even the title was captured from my own doubts about whether I was ready enough for this project.”
Perhaps this is why it took three tries to convince him to hold an exhibition. Ari Sanjaya of Murai Arts Project, the exhibition’s organizer, first reached out to him in mid-2025 with a proposal for a solo exhibition. Abell, who said he was not mentally prepared at the time, declined the offer.
He still wasn’t prepared when the offer was made again in October. But when it came a third time in December, Abell finally felt ready and agreed.
“A solo exhibition is something that is equal parts terrifying and desirable. It’s a bit of a dilemma in terms of the artworks and internally for me,” he says.
That internal dilemma turns out to be at the heart of the exhibition.
“In my opinion, the arts are synonymous with design, but this is also because I do not have any relations with the academic side of the arts. To me, art is very wide-ranging, just from the genres and types out there that are now encroaching on other aspects like pop culture.”
True to his signature touch, three-dimensional works are front and center in Am I an Artist. At the same time, Abell has also brought some of his two-dimensional works, which he says not many people know about, even though he started making them in 2023.
The two mediums also serve different purposes for him. While his three-dimensional works comment on external forces, his two-dimensional works showcase his internal ruminations and reflections.
(Courtesy of Aqraa Sagir)
For example, the white resin pillow Temple of Dreams hints at how dreams can become spaces for imagination, memories and hopes. Meanwhile, the acrylic painting Seeing the Other Side speaks of the growth and maturity that come from being receptive to new knowledge and perspectives, represented by a bird being welcomed by an open hand as it flies through a window.
(Courtesy of Aqraa Sagir)
“To be honest, I’m someone who’s always struggling, striving and overthinking because there is a sense of my own self that’s always in between two worlds. [...] With the two-dimensional works, I try to highlight consistent visuals and themes; I even have a roadmap for the next 10 years.”
“For my three-dimensional works, to be honest I would probably free myself from all constraints, because I can’t really hold back where my end goal is with the work. I tried focusing on a single concept, a single narration in the span of six months, but in the end I couldn’t do it, so this is something I’ve decided for myself. I’ve talked to a few curators about how I can’t really be like other artists, like the proper artists, but they told me they’d prefer that I do what I want in my own way when it comes to art.”
Even with subjects that closely mirror his deepest thoughts, internal monologues and personal journey, Abell says viewers will ultimately respond to the works in their own ways. How they interpret the visuals is, after all, beyond an artist’s control.
(Courtesy of Aqraa Sagir)
“One thing I’d like to convey, though, is that our own selves are very important. We have to know ourselves, love ourselves before we get into other people’s business.”
