“I’d like to classify my work as a spontaneous kind of healing. Painting to me is like having a blunt and
candid exchange with my soul about adversity and chaos of life. I find peace by expressing my
thoughts and logical views about anything and everything through the use of colours, bold gestures,
and different experimental approaches — making all the mundane things come to life.
My works primarily talk about life itself. Who we are, and how we are affected by everything that
surrounds us. I don’t specifically follow one style, I don’t have any specific rules. I love the idea of
free-flow painting. I don’t have anything but my gut and instinct. I just paint and live in the moment.
Whatever my soul tells me to create, no matter how complex that may be, I’d paint it. If I see a thread,
a stick, a scrap cloth, a foil, I’d incorporate it with acrylic and start my storytelling from there. No
matter how unlikely it may seem, I don’t mind taking the risk.
Each and every one of us has a story to tell but some are too reluctant to even say a word. And that’s
what my work is all about. To be free and be bold.”

Born on January 25, 1988 in Binondo Manila, Chai Soo, a self-taught artist grew up in a small town in
Borongan, Samar. Being an only child and growing up with no parents around, she was raised with
strict supervision, limiting her interaction in the outside world. She then found an ally through brushes
and paints. At an early age, she found bliss in expressing herself through arts and painting.
In 2007, as she began to lead her own life, she set aside her passion and focused on making a living
through the hustle and bustle in the corporate world. In early 2017, after almost a decade of dealing
with the high demands and pressure at work (and life), she felt an urge to go back to her old passion
— painting. It then became her definition of escape whenever she got too much on her plate. It
became her voice. A dramatic reflection of her deepest thoughts, hidden emotions, and inner chaos.
She uses acrylic on canvas as her medium and incorporates it with vivid colours, spontaneous bold
gestures, and a number of different experimental approaches to set the tone of her work.
She hopes to inspire people through her works, to never be afraid to speak their mind and to stand up
for what they believe in as that is what made her presence felt not only in the local art scene but also
in the international art scene.

Chai Soo has showcased her artistic talent multiple times in the Philippines from 2021 to the present and has participated in several international group exhibitions held between 2019 and 2021. These exhibitions brought together artists from the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan, China, and Singapore. Each event served as a platform to celebrate cultural diversity and foster cross-border collaboration, highlighting the unifying power of art in promoting peace, unity, and intercultural understanding across Asia.