Muhammad Nhawfal Bin Juma'at is a conceptual and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans installation, drawing, text, sound and spatial environments. Grounded in phenomenology, Islamic hermeneutics and post-structuralist thought, his work examines the multiplicity of Being, the instability of language and the tensions between presence and absence. Through his research-driven practice, he approaches art as a form of philosophical inquiry, exploring how meaning is shaped and experienced through materials, space and the body.
Working as a bricoleur, Nhawfal brings together different materials, gestures and spatial relationships to explore ideas rather than simply represent them. Drawing on philosophical and spiritual perspectives, his works use simple, restrained forms to examine memory, silence and the ways in which things relate to one another. Language also plays an important role in his practice, allowing for different interpretations rather than conveying a single, fixed meaning. Through his work, he invites audiences to consider existence as something continually evolving rather than fixed.
Nhawfal completed his Master of Fine Arts Fine Art at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), University of the Arts Singapore (UAS). He pursued his postgraduate studies under the 2024 NAC-UAS Arts Scholarship and received the Best Studentship Award for the Master of Fine Arts Fine Art programme in 2026.
His work has been presented locally and internationally. In 2024, he held the solo exhibition This Is Where We’ll Part: The Perpetual Ending of an Immortal at the Esplanade Community Wall. That same year, he participated in Paper Trails Between Lion and Swan, a cross-cultural project presented in Singapore and Perth/Boorloo, Australia.
Alongside his artistic practice, Nhawfal teaches studio-based modules in painting, drawing, ceramics and sculpture. He has also undertaken curatorial roles, including Pneuma: Of Spirituality in a Contemporary Age and Landscapes of Our Mind.
Awards & Achievements
- 2026 – Best Studentship Award, Master of Fine Arts (Fine Art), Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
- 2024 – NAC-UAS Arts Scholarship
Selected Residencies- 2026 – Flock Residency, Kampung Java, Singapore
- 2024 – Artist Residency, Paper Trails Between Lion and Swan, Perth/Boorloo, Australia
- 2020 – N ear Residency, Online, Singapore
Selected Solo Exhibition- 2024 – This Is Where We’ll Part: The Perpetual Ending of an Immortal, Esplanade Community Wall, Singapore
Selected Group Exhibitions- 2026 – Flagship Genius, The Ngee Ann Kongsi Galleries 1 & 2, Singapore
- 2026 – DUOLOGUE: Echoed Rhythms of the Mind, Hopsfield Art, CT Hub, Singapore
- 2025 – Ipoh International Art Festival, PINCER (Perak Innovation and Creative Resource Centre), Malaysia
- 2024 – Paper Trails Between Lion and Swan, Singapore and Perth/Boorloo, Australia
- 2024 – 15th Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition, National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan
- 2023 – 14th Shoebox Sculpture Exhibition, National Taiwan University of Arts, Taiwan
- 2023 – Re: Becoming Human(e), Merlin Gallery, Singapore
- 2023 – Children of the Star, AC43 Gallery, Singapore
- 2023 – Sight Seeing Sculpture: The Sky, The Land and The Sea, Sculpture 2052, Singapore
- 2021 – Collaboration Now, Slocumb Galleries, East Tennessee State University, United States
- 2020 – District 14: 7 KaliBah, Joo Chiat Road, Singapore
- 2020 – Intersections, Jendela Visual Arts Space, Esplanade, Singapore
- 2020 – Pneuma: Of Spirituality in a Contemporary Age, Stamford Arts Centre, Singapore
Selected Public Art Commissions- 2023 – For This Is Where You Will Find Me, Raikan Cahaya Ramadan, Sultan Gate Park, Singapore
- 2022 – NOCTURNE: Conversations with Waterloo, Singapore Night Festival, Waterloo Centre, Singapore
- 2019 – Ke-Datanganku, Dari Laut ke Tanahmu (My Arrival, From the Sea to Your Land), Kallang Riverside Park, Singapore
- 2018 – In This Space I Will Find You, Placing Home: Woodlands, Woodlands Waterfront Park, Singapore
Curatorial & Co-Curatorial Roles- 2022 – Bridging Through the Age: An Intergenerational Collaborative Exhibition, Maya Gallery, Singapore
- 2020 – Co-curator, Pneuma: Of Spirituality in a Contemporary Age, Stamford Arts Centre, Singapore
- 2018 – Curator, Landscapes of Our Mind, an advocacy project showcasing works by clients of Club HEAL
- 2016 – Alt Ground, Mettlework, Singapore