HAN SAI POR’s Black Forest (2016) overtakes a gallery at SAM with charred wooden logs scattered amongst a bed of charcoal, which speaks to the urgency of contemporary ecological concerns. All photos by Sylvia Tsai for ArtAsiaPacific.
An overwhelming fragrance envelops visitors upon entering SAM, the source of which is HEMALI BHUTA’s Growing (2016), a wall made from densely hung incense sticks that reflect the Buddhist idea of “in-betweenness” in the cyclical journey between life and death, and also notions of the individual and the collective.
This concept of the individual and the collective is also explored in ZULKIFLE MAHMOD’s sculpture SONICreflection (2016), made up of 143 wok lids that help to amplify sounds the artist recorded from various diaspora communities in Singapore, which range from Thailand and Indonesia to Myanmar and the Philippines. At first, the soundscapes of individual communities are separately audible; they then come together to form a patchwork of sounds.
Though GREGORY HALILI’s paintings on mother of pearl in Karagatan (The Breadth of Oceans) (2016) are subtle in size—each piece ranges between 2.5 to 5 cm in length—the twinkle of the material when catching light draws one’s attention to the eyes that look back at the viewer. Halili has depicted the eyes of residents in coastal villages across the Philippines, which inadvertently traces such communities that, while contributing significantly to the country’s economy, are often overlooked by the government.
PANNAPHAN YODMANEE illustrates the Buddhist cosmos in what looks like a landscape painting. Bringing together found objects, concrete and her own drawings, Pannaphan’s narrative takes a retrospective look at Southeast Asian history that continues to the present day. A clear emphasis is on unsustainable urban development, the products of which have already proven to crumble.
Detail of PANNAPHAN YODMANEE’s mural Aftermath (2016).
During the preview and on opening day, MELATI SURYODARMO performed the work Behind the Light (2016). Initially, the audience shared a darkened room with a reflective surface, in which we saw only ourselves. After a few minutes, a light emerged from behind the mirror to reveal Suryodarmo standing behind a table. She gently placed a piece of paper onto a large, red ink pad, which covered the surface of the table, then placed her forehead onto the sheet to leave an impression and lifted the paper to cover her face, showing the ink-blotted areas. After this action with a single sheet of paper, the room became dark again, leaving members of the audience with their own reflections.
Part of MELATI SURYODARMO’s performance Behind the Light (2016).
MELATI SURYODARMO’s performance installation, after the artist scattered sheets on ink-blotted paper, which covered the floor around where she stood.
Down the street from SAM is its sister venue SAM at 8Q. At the entrance, one encounters CHIA CHUYIA, who is performing her long-duration work over the course of five weeks. She sits in this gallery space for nearly seven hours every day where she knits a dress out of leeks, relating back to her Teochew Chinese heritage, which she has increasingly turned to while being based in Sweden for the past five years.
Also outside of SAM at 8Q is AZIZAN PAIMAN‘s Putar Alam Cafe (2016), an interactive space that not only showcases the artist’s work, but also has a radio and a television that broadcast the news. Acting as a bartender, the artist serves visitors food and drinks, while engaging in conversation with audience members about what they are hearing and seeing around them.
Only after noticing the artwork barriers does one realize the “trash” scattered in odd corners at SAM at 8Q is a work by KENTARO HIROKI. A humorous set of works on paper that are intricately replicated from its original, Rubbish (2016), responds to the pristine condition of Singapore.
The beauty of ADEELA SULEMAN’s installation of found ceramic plates and hand-carved wood lures audiences in for a closer look. It is then that one sees the violent motifs painted on the decorative plates. Appropriating images of Persian and Mughal miniature painting, Suleman further manipulates the drawings with bloodshed, illustrating her life in Pakistan, where she says “violence has become part of their culture, environment and landscape.”
“The more heinous of crime that I paint, the more beautiful the work needs to be,” explains ADEELA
SULEMAN as she spoke of her delicately painted imagery on ceramic plates.
MUNEM WASIF photographs barren land at the Indo-Pakistani border in his series entitled “Land of Undefined Territory” (2014–15), bringing attention to the politics of land, and the man-made systems of ownership.
ADE DARMAWAN transforms a gallery at 8Q with found objects sourced from both Singapore and Jakarta, particularly at flea markets. Entitled Singapore Human Resources Institute (2016), a name derived from an actual nonprofit organization founded in 1965 to “promote excellence in human resource management and development,” the installation gathers objects that reflect the consumerist ideologies and political campaigns of Singapore throughout its 51-year history.
Detail from ADE DARMAWAN’s Singapore Human Resources Institute (2016). The artist mentioned that the pink wallpaper was a homage to late prime minister Lee Kwan Yew, whose favorite color was pink. Additional silkscreen images were sourced from an illustrated book documenting the early days of Singapore.
Over at Stamford Green, just outside the National Museum of Singapore, is a work by local artist duo called PERCEPTION3. It is an installation comprising two reflective surfaces facing each other, adorned with the text “There are those who stay” and “There are those who go,” which refer to the rapidly cleared and redeveloped land of Singapore. The work brings back memories of city-state’s history, as the site of the installation was where the National Library and a hawker center once stood. The land was cleared to make way for new developments. By erecting these two signs, the artists hope to evoke nostalgia for what was lost and inform alternative methods of building in the future.
One of the signs of *PERCEPTION3*’s installation There are those who stay/There are those who go (2016), located at Stamford Green. On its mirrored surface, the panel reflects remnants of the razed architecture, a metaphor for how the memory of these lost buildings still linger.
In the De Suantio Gallery at the Singapore Management University, SAKARIN KRUE-ON pays tribute to Kra-Tua Taeng Seua (A Tiger Hunt), a traditional folktale about a tiger hunt that is popular in southern Thailand. As younger generations move out of the villages and into cities, performances of the tiger hunt are diminishing as fewer people are learning the dance and customs. Sakarin brings attention to this dying art form by collaborating with a local theater company, showing not only the final performance in a silent film, but also a behind-the-scenes look with the performers and their costumes. Here, a still from the silent film shows a standoff between man and tiger.
