Text & Photos by Karen Tho (Media & Communications Intern)

To celebrate the Chinese New Year and welcome the Year of the Rat, TIS alumni Stella Preece was invited to decorate a fibreglass rat sculpture with her own design. She is currently studying at University of Saint Joseph as a design student. One of Stella’s professors stumbled upon her artwork on Instagram and really loved them. Her professor encouraged her apply to compete in the the annual Anno Project which is in its sixth year. This year, only 25 talented artists were selected to take part in the exhibition, of which Stella is the youngest.

The name of Stella’s sculpture, Stadståttan which means City Rat in Swedish is a tribute to her Swedish roots and her life in Macau. Using her unique black and white graphic style, you can catch glimpses of Macau with the Macau Tower and the skyscrapers. Stella loves incorporating her own original characters into her works. Her signature detailed hand-drawn art often have elaborate background stories. For this particular piece, skulls and little sewer creatures were painted onto the rat to represent the unknown. Due to the shiny material used on the sculpture’s base, the sewer creatures are reflected thus giving the piece another dimension.

From beginning to finishing, Stella spent two weeks to paint her design onto the fibreglass sculpture. At first, she couldn’t believe that she was given this incredible opportunity but in the end she managed to create a breathtaking piece of work.

Organized by República Das Artes, the exhibition will be on display from January 22nd until February 22nd. It is free for the public and easily accessible to all in the white tent area at Nan Vam Lake.

To see more of Stella’s art, check out her Instagram @stellnoelart (https://www.instagram.com/stellnoelart/) and if you are after a print of your own, she is open for commissions.