From 19th to 28th January Art Week took place in Singapore, with over 150 events. The inception of what would later become Singapore Art Week can be traced back to the efforts of the National Arts Council (NAC) and other key players in the local arts community. The early 2000s witnessed a burgeoning interest in the arts, with a growing number of artists and art institutions seeking platforms to showcase their works and engage with a broader audience.
In 2013, Singapore Art Week (SAW) was officially launched as an initiative by the NAC to consolidate and promote the city-state’s diverse range of visual arts activities. The primary goal was to provide a platform for local and international artists, galleries, and cultural institutions to converge, fostering collaboration and dialogue within the art community.
From its modest beginnings, Singapore Art Week has grown into a multi-faceted celebration that encompasses a wide spectrum of artistic expressions. The week-long event typically includes exhibitions, art fairs, gallery openings, public art installations, and a diverse range of programs and activities that cater to both art aficionados and the general public.
Over the years, Singapore Art Week has garnered international acclaim for its ability to showcase the unique blend of tradition and innovation within the local art scene. The event has attracted renowned artists, curators, and collectors from around the world, positioning Singapore as a hub for artistic exchange and collaboration.
Each edition of Singapore Art Week brings forth a curated selection of themes that reflect the evolving narratives and trends within the global art landscape. These themes often serve as a unifying thread, connecting the various exhibitions and events throughout the week, and providing a lens through which attendees can explore different facets of contemporary art.
In its journey through time, Singapore Art Week has expanded beyond traditional gallery spaces. The inclusion of public art installations, street art, and interactive experiences has broadened the accessibility of art, making it a truly immersive and inclusive experience for residents and visitors alike.
Singapore Art Week not only celebrates the existing cultural tapestry but also serves as a catalyst for change within the local art ecosystem. The event encourages dialogue, innovation, and experimentation, fostering an environment where artists can push boundaries and challenge perceptions.
This year was 12th edition of the SAW, let’s take a look at its most interesting art shows.
Priyageetha Dia & Maryanto: Archiving Landscape. Yenn and Alan Lo Foundation (presented by Yeo Workshop).
Nestled within a shophouse on Kim Yam Road, Archiving Landscape unfolds narratives that have remained untold, shedding light on the intricate relationship between natural environment in South East Asia and the socio-political concerns embedded within them. Commencing with a concise documentary lensed by Maryanto, the exhibition embarks on a visual journey around Mount Merapi, laying bare the consequences of human neglect and environmental degradation inflicted upon the forests and volcanoes. Perturbed by the unrelenting exploitation of land in Indonesia, the artist has dedicated considerable effort to scrutinizing industries complicit in the degradation of these landscapes. In his monochromatic paintings and drawings, he intertwines local mythologies, chronicles, and personal experiences to give life to the often-overlooked yet profoundly serious issues, ranging from volcanic sand mining to oil dredging. Complementing the documentary, earlier works emblematic of his artistic practice punctuate the exhibition space, providing moments for contemplation and envisioning a more optimistic and utopian future.
Traversing through the shophouse, visitors encounter Priyageetha Dia’s mesmerizing video creation, TURBINE TROPICS. Harnessing the visceral qualities of rubber tapping, the artwork transports viewers to an otherworldly dimension, spiraling infinitely into the unknown. Originally showcased at Frieze Seoul 2023, TURBINE TROPICS aligns with Dia’s ongoing exploration of South East Asian plantation histories, particularly those related to rubber farmstead. Drawing disquieting parallels between the data extractivism of the contemporary digital era and the colonial plantation system, Dia prompts urgent introspection into our activities, choices, and behaviors as internet users. Despite the differing forms of exploitation, both systems revolve around comparable principles: resource extraction, power imbalances, dependency, and opacity. With the digital age advancing, addressing these exploitative practices becomes crucial to prevent the replication of colonial injustices in new and insidious forms.
Heman Chong: Meditations on Shadow Libraries. STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery.
Chong’s enduring fascination with the public library, viewed as both ideology and physical space, takes center stage in Meditations on Shadow Libraries. The exhibition delves into the evolving nature of personal, individual, or informal libraries in today’s fast-paced information-sharing landscape. It raises thought-provoking questions about transcending the mere commodification of data and explores the possibilities and consequences of unrestricted information sharing. What would a system that allows free and consequence-free sharing of information look like, and what are the implications of relinquishing control in a world where knowledge dissemination is ubiquitous?
Meditations on Shadow Libraries is not just an exhibition but also a colossal artwork by Heman Chong. It unfolds as a series of open-ended individual works, providing a platform for various objects, experiences, and ideas to traverse. With a touch of lightness and humor, Chong intentionally widens the gap between knowledge and information, measuring them against the transient nature of the bodies that embody them. It prompts contemplation on the perpetual novelty of encounters between books and people within a shared enterprise, brimming with unexplored domains and gaps.
Casey Tan: Night Call. Cuturi Gallery.
Cuturi Gallery proudly presented Night Call by Casey Tan, a Singaporean artist born in 1994. Tan’s latest paintings delicately balanced reality and imagination, offering insights into the emotional landscapes within. Exploring joy, vulnerability, and introspection, Tan’s canvases captured the essence of being both an observer and participant in our inner worlds.
Night Call revealed Tan’s fascination with the interplay between escapism and reality, creating dynamic tension that prompted viewers to contemplate the relationship between fantasy and the tangible world. Against familiar local backdrops, Tan spotlighted routine activities, such as the seemingly apocalyptic transformation of a joyful mahjong game in Heat (2023), where red and green hues evoked an unsettling atmosphere, capturing moments of isolation and uncertainty.
Departing from his usual approach of populating a single canvas with numerous characters, Tan directed attention to individual characters in Night Call. These characters served as gateways to the emotions within Singapore’s concrete jungle homes, introducing an element of alienation that reflected the emotional tug-of-war between individuality and societal norms. Tan’s paintings served as introspective reflections on the pressures to conform to societal benchmarks, encompassing expectations of romantic companionship, idealized career paths, and the weight of societal norms.
Maintaining his distinctive visual language, Tan incorporated playful elements to convey underlying messages in his works. Familiar Scent (2023), a whimsical reinterpretation of the Adam and Eve narrative, offered a contemporary twist through modern attire and eccentric details. Tan’s third-person perspective provided glimpses into cathartic contradictions—singular yet universal, somber yet hopeful.
Night Call revolved around desire, veiled in expressions of grief, clenched fists, promising sunrises, and yearning eyes. Tan captured the transient nature of inner worlds, exploring the desire for an idealized alternate existence alongside the necessity of confronting real-world challenges.
Night Call was exhibited at Cuturi Gallery from January 6 to February 3, 2024. Casey Tan, born in 1994, focused on visual metaphor and narrative in his works, drawing inspiration from everyday life. He received the UOB Most Promising Artist of the Year award in 2019 and lived and worked in Singapore, with his artwork featured in private collections, commissioned by corporations like Keppel and Temasek Holdings, and exhibited internationally.
Htein Lin: Reincarceration. Richard Koh Fine Art.
Richard Koh Fine Art (RKFA) presented Reincarceration, a compelling exhibition by acclaimed Burmese artist Htein Lin. Curated by independent curator and critic Louis Ho, the exhibition delved into the profound and enduring struggle for liberty and human rights in Myanmar, reflecting the artist’s journey of resilience and resistance.
Reincarceration returned to the nucleus of Htein Lin’s vision: the pernicious operations of state-sponsored power, and the myriad ways in which individuals survived its depredations. In 2022, the Myanmar artist found himself back in prison, this time as collateral damage in the military government’s targeting of his wife, Vicky Bowman, a former British ambassador to the country working to promote responsible business. Both were sentenced to a year for alleged immigration offenses. Released after three months, Htein Lin’s most recent incarceration followed his early experiences as a political prisoner in the late 1990s when he spent more than six years behind the bars. The exhibition, composed of works spanning the decades between the two periods, was a reflection of the broader struggle for liberty and human rights in Myanmar, the travails of a lone individual speaking to the collective tribulations of his people in the wake of the military coup in 2021.
Reincarceration was a poignant testament to Htein Lin’s enduring commitment to bearing witness and giving voice to the struggles of his homeland. Through this exhibition, visitors were invited to engage with a powerful narrative of resilience, resistance, and the universal pursuit of freedom.
In conclusion, Singapore Art Week, despite its diverse and enriching offerings, experienced some lows in the form of exhibitions that struggled to engage and resonate with the art-loving public. These instances serve as a reminder that even within the vibrant tapestry of artistic expression, not every brushstroke succeeds in leaving an enduring mark.
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