When Tiffany Khoo handed her one-year-old son the back of a canvas to keep him busy, she had no idea she was handing him his future. It started – as most beautiful things do, completely by accident.
Tiffany was doing a paint-by-numbers activity at home when her son Titus wandered over, curious and unwilling to be left out. So she gave him the back of the canvas and let him at it. What he produced was not the smeared, chaotic mess you might expect from a one-year-old. It was something else entirely, something that made Tiffany and her husband, Seth Wai Kit Selbaraju, stop and look twice.
That was the beginning. This April, it became a record.
Titus Ren Khoo-Selbaraju, now two years old, has been officially recognised by Parenthood Records as the Youngest Artist in Malaysia to Hold a Solo Art Exhibition. His debut collection, A New Dawn, is currently on display at Sunway Square Mall through the end of April 2026, and if you have not been yet, it is worth the trip.
More Than a Milestone
Since that first accidental session, Titus has completed over 16 original acrylic works on canvas. His art sessions are initiated entirely by him; he asks for his paints, Tiffany sits beside him to help with materials, and he gets to work. Sometimes it lasts two minutes. Sometimes 45. There are no instructions, no colour charts, no corrections. Just a toddler and his instincts.
When Seth and Tiffany first shared his pieces with friends who knew people in the professional art world, they were not expecting much beyond polite encouragement. What they got instead was genuine amazement. These were people who know art, and they said, unprompted, that Titus has a natural, almost instinctive ability to arrange colour and build complex layers far beyond his years. That professional validation grew further when A New Dawn opened its doors at Sunway Square Mall, drawing art collectors and curious visitors alike who came to see his talent firsthand.
For Seth and Tiffany, the Parenthood Records recognition is Titus’s very first formal acknowledgement, and they see it not as a destination, but as the beginning of a long and colourful journey ahead.
What Creative Freedom Actually Looks Like
Here is the part of this story that every parent needs to hear.
Seth and Tiffany are not artists. They did not set out to raise one. But when they saw what happened the moment they simply got out of Titus’s way, they made a conscious decision to keep doing exactly that.
“Every child has innate creativity. Typically, parents want to control and restrict them, limiting colour combinations, or confining them to paint only in certain areas. I realised that it actually curtails their natural talent. So we give Titus the liberty to choose and make his own decisions when it comes to expressing his creativity.” – Tiffany Khoo, Titus Ren’s Mom
It may sound simple, but honestly, could be one of the hardest things to do as a parent. Our instinct is to guide, to correct and ultimately, to keep things tidy. Titus’s parents chose mess over control, and their son made history because of it. Tiffany’s message to other parents is one worth sitting with: “As parents, we sometimes fall into the trap of projecting our own interests onto our kids. I’ve realised how important it is to just step back and give them the tools and the space to explore, even if what they love is totally different from our own hobbies. Kids really do have an inner compass for what they’re passionate about. Our job is to support that natural spark and create opportunities that fit their unique talents, rather than forcing them down a traditional path.”
A Community That Showed Up
Since A New Dawn opened at Sunway Square Mall, the public response has been nothing short of heartwarming.
Albert Cheok, Senior Director of Sunway Square, Sunway Giza, and Sunway Pyramid Ice, shared that the mall’s core community of families and students have embraced the exhibition with real enthusiasm. “The public has responded so well to A New Dawn. Many families and students visit Sunway Square, and they truly love the exhibition,” said Cheok. “For families, seeing Titus’s work encourages parents to nurture art in their own children.”
Cheok added that Sunway Square Mall sees this as a meaningful first step and hopes to continue serving as a platform for young local talent in the future.
As we celebrate Titus Ren’s incredible achievement, let’s also celebrate the “inner compass” in each of our own children. Whether it’s art, sports, science, or something entirely new, the most beautiful thing we can do is support that natural spark.
