A key figure in the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and in Faith-based Care helps to make sense of the stories of pain and anger through his art. Executive Director Mervin Singham used the same release valve while in lockdown last year, and has just produced a book and accompanying art exhibition called my covid-19 bubble NARRATIVES. The Malaysian-born, Human Rights lawyer, public servant and artist says he doesn't paint what is beautiful but simply what is. And his brightly-coloured canvases can disturb people. Lynn Freeman asks Mervin what place art held in his childhood. my covid-19 bubble NARRATIVES by Mervin Singham opens at Exhibitions Gallery in Welllington on March 11, and the book of the same name will be launched then too.