Drown

Sam Chan is a Melbourne-based artist creating vibrant, expressive paintings from her home studio. Working primarily with acrylic on canvas, she blends bold brushstrokes with graphic line work to explore the balance between chaos and control. Her style is raw, playful, and layered with meaning. With family roots in Hong Kong, Sam is currently exploring her cultural heritage through new materials and techniques. Her practice reflects a personal search for identity, rebellion, and belonging, inspired by artists like Jeffrey Smart and Terry Urban.

"Sink or Swim" explores the emotional tension between pressure and perseverance — the urgent feeling that one must succeed or be left behind. Drawing from personal experience, this body of work reflects the weight of societal expectations, the sense of isolation, and the internal struggle to stay afloat in an overwhelming world.

Each piece responds to moments of feeling boxed in, emotionally submerged, and disconnected — yet still searching for clarity and hope. Through bold brushwork, layered textures, and a vivid visual language, Sam captures the psychological push-and-pull between sinking and swimming, collapse and resilience.

This series invites viewers to consider their own responses to pressure: What keeps them grounded? What helps them rise? And when they feel themselves slipping beneath the surface, what do they reach for?