For Art’s Sake!

This is Lure, a nice installation by Indonesian artist Tintin Wulia at the current group show at Osage Gallery.

It comprises a claw vending machine which contains, instead of stuffed toys, handmade passports of different kinds. It’s functional too, a dollar gives you three tries.

Around the machine are mini passports that wind this way and that, from the entrance of the gallery all the way up to the ceiling. It’s supposed to allude to Hansel and Gretel’s cookie crumbs.

I like this piece a lot, not least because I’ve just applied for a visa for the UK – and it sucks when you don’t have an all-access passport like Singaporeans do. That’s Third World for you. But I digress.

Anyway, the show’s called Inventory: New Art from Southeast Asia. A group exhibit featuring eight artists from the region, including Ho Tzu Nyen (his new video work Newton, which bagged best sound at the Singapore Short Film Awards, was being fixed just now, but they say it’ll be up tomorrow) and Cheo Chai-Hiang (who’s exhibiting his Cowrie series – basically this linguistic mini-sculptures where actual cowries replace the Chinese symbol for “bei” to form a variety of words).

Pinoy homie Poklong Anading also has a four-channel video work while some of Thai artist Wit Pimkanchanapong’s origami fruits from last year’s Asia-Pacific Triennial are also on display.

Not to be missed (because it’s easily missed) is Pratchaya Phinthong’s Demonstrations.

There’s just a note telling you to go and see the work, which is with the gallery attendant.

And that would be…? A fake 1,000 baht bill!

Anyway, go and catch the show. It’s by no means as earth-shaking as what the brochure says — something about “taking stock of the state of art production in the region”.

Can’t really do that with eight artists from an “inventory” by a single gallery right?

But still, try your luck with the vending machine. And since it’s really not worthwhile to climb those gazillion steps up to Old School for a single show, I suggest you catch the German photography exhibition at 2902 Gallery downstairs as well.

Want something more? Some public programmes:

Chai-Hiang will be giving a talk and launching a book on March 13, 3pm (Saturday).

Former Substation artistic co-director Lee Weng Choy will be giving a tour of the exhibit on March 27, 3pm. (So that’s  where he went to!)

Finally, Tzu Nyen will give a talk on April 10, 3pm.

Tags: 2902 Gallery, Cheo Chai Hiang, contemporary art, Demonstrations, Ho Tzu Nyen, Lee Weng Choy, Lure, Newton, Osage Gallery, Poklong Anading, Pratchaya Phinthong, Singapore Short Film Awards, Tintin Wulia, Wit Pimkanchanapong

My attitude towards the whole “arts for all” or “arts for the community” argument – as used or pushed for here in Singapore – has always been at best, rather blasé. At worst, just sheer irritation.

Why? They’re mostly flashy entertain-y stuff that in some ways may actually hurt the cause of contemporary art. (“Huh? That’s contemporary art? But the one I saw in Yishun was flashier? It had explosions!” or something like that.)

I’m re-thinking this position after catching the last day of the Work-Life conference organised by the British Council, Theatre Training and Research Programme (TTRP), and the National Museum last Saturday at the Society for the Physically Disabled in Tiong Bahru.

One of the speakers, Londoner artist and curator Clare Patey discussed her artistic practice which has revolved mostly around food.

One of her pieces, Feast, is kind of like what Jamie Oliver did with schools and canteen food. She basically took over a plot of land near where she lives and worked with school kids to plant veggies which they would eventually harvest and cook – the end product being, a “feast”. It’s a project that’s been adopted by other schools.

Another of her projects, Feast On The Bridge, she took over the Southwark Bridge for the Thames Festival – and turned it into a space to re-enact/re-live certain traditional rituals dealing with food, as well as basically making it into a dining area.

A public bridge no! They closed traffic just so people could eat!

I wish I had attended the previous day, which was held at the National Museum, because this is one kind of arts event that, for all the many shows and exhibits happening at one go, has been sorely missing in Singapore for the past few years.

***

What is a community? Some interesting responses from the other speakers on Saturday. Aside from poet Cyril Wong’s valid but rather out of place talk about continuously questioning his place within this “abstract” literary community (I thought it was all about forging communities?), the rest had more constructive things to say.

TNS’ Alvin Tan talked about the theatre company’s MO, on how they focus on interest groups (i.e. marginalised voices). Another interesting semantic point he raised was his preference for the term “inter-cultural” (a more pro-active way of negotiating differences) rather than the oft-used “multi-cultural” (a rather stagnant recognition of these differences).

The Substation’s new artistic director Noor Effendy Ibrahim’s own artistic approach to working within/with/on the Malay theatre community is one of basically shaking things up, to “destabilise” that community, letting these fractures come out and then “instigate growth from within the fractures.” Which I thought was a nice way of putting it. The artist as benign weed. Woot.

Alternative historian Hong Lysa touched on alternative histories in Singapore (i.e. the unofficial, non-PAP version of it) but I won’t say anything else because might be too touchy (and I forgot to ask if it’s okay to put it out). Suffice it to say, I loved one of her anecdotes about how, in recent years, the presence of the so-called “Communist” faction of post-War Singapore was mainly seen in the obituary pages of the Chinese press. Interesting don’t you think?

Film-maker Tan Pin Pin gave an honest and telling line about her continuous fear of a community dissolving. Talking mainly about the beginnings of Filmcommunitysg, which, as most organisations/groups usually do, got together because of an issue (MDA took out foreign travel grants for film-makers – an issue that has yet to be resolved). One good point she made, which is something that can’t be mentioned enough, is that how the survival community will always boil down to “the will of the members.”

 Videos and other stuff on their online portal here.

Tags: Alvin Tan, Clare Patey, contemporary art, Cyril Wong, Feast, Feast On The Bridge, Filmcommunitysg, Hong Lysa, Jamie Oliver, National Museum of Singapore, Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Tan Pin Pin, Thames Festival, The British Council, The Necessary Stage, The Substation, Theatre Training and Research Programme, Work-Life

We ran a story on how it was to help set up visual artist Suzann Victor’s installation His Mother Is A Theatre at the ongoing Classic Contemporary show at SAM 8Q. And in a classic case of Stockholm Syndrome (being cooped up for a total of two days with the work) I wanted to be Suzann Victor. But that’s impossible. So I did the next best thing — I stalked her. Via email. Here’s how it went.

Hi Suzann, what have you been up to lately?

Graduated with PhD, received a fellowship award from the New-York based Civitella Ranieri Foundation, which provides an all-expenses six-week residency in a medieval castle in Italy amongst a dozen other prominent and mostly American artists from different fields, completed a new piece of work for Meritus Mandarin’s new lobby and chilling out.

What was your reaction when Joyce Toh, one of the curators, informed you that the piece was going to be part of Classic Contemporary survey show?

I must admit that I was concerned about the installation process as any compromise on the work’s visual aesthetics and integrity, shall we say, would by extension compromise the work’s expression/message – this had happened the last time it was shown at SAM many years ago – it was then badly installed. But in the capable hands of Ms Toh, I was kept informed and consulted on many levels, and I am sure any limitations has been transformed into advantages in this instance.

You’ve done work before and after His Mother Is A Theatre. With all the history surrounding the installation piece, how significant is this installation personally?

Personally, His Mother is a Theatre marks the cusp between a loss of artistic innocence and the beginning of a sense of social/political enlightenment in my practice.

Conceptually, it was created as a visual quotation of the compulsory requirement to submit scripts for licencing prior to its performance at the time. Hence, as a script of body parts made of hair, literally, the work strategically “returned” the ownership of image-making, i.e. the conjuring of images via the act of reading the hair text, to the reader/viewer, even though it is itself a form of visuality. By using human hair, the work reeked of the body so much so that it was even more visceral and present than other forms of representation. This was an important conceptual phase for me.

Some artists kind of cringe when they look back at their earlier works – what about you? Do you think this particular piece has aged well?

The issue is not so much one of “aging” but rather, significance i.e. the power to engage and communicate across time. If the work is able to generate public discourse after the fact, i.e. post whatever event or moment it was responding to or encapsulating in an artistic, or conceptual way (since art does function as a visual testimony to a particular space-time-event, personal or social, etc.), then I think it has not only succeeded as an agent of history but also, “lived” in a way that moves with the growing or changing needs of a public/audience. In other words, to transcend its moment in time and history and be contemporary.

The first (and last?) time it was shown was in Pacific Plaza. Are you coming back to view this new “version”?

As I mentioned earlier, it was shown many years ago as a part of SAM’s collection. I am invited to be back in April to give a talk about it.

During the installation, I could really see the complexity of trying to set this up. Back then, did you do it all by yourself? How long did it take you to set it up?

Apart from borrowing a ladder from Pacific Plaza etc, I did it by myself – friends did drop by now and again to see how it was going so that was nice.

What was the most difficult part of it all? Did you have a hard time looking for the bread? Placing the hair-words around the table? Gathering the hair? Sewing the fabric?

I chanced upon the kopitiam bread while walking along East Coast Road with my friends – these loaves were in a box on the floor and the charcoal black tops were mesmerising to me – it was instant attraction – I knew immediately that i was going to use them in my work and began to plan how I could also get people to smell them, hence to light them up. So, no, this was not difficult at all – in fact it was aesthetic and olfactory pleasure.

The hair salon was just two or three doors down next to Calvin Klein at the time – they were very friendly and just gave me as much hair as i needed and it was very exciting to find out what kind of hair I was going to get next – curly, wavy, straight, rough, smooth etc

Yah, maybe sewing did not sit well with me – brought back memories of school and my very fierce Home Economics teacher.

And finally, out of curiosity — is there any particular “He” you had in mind for the title?

In this context, “His” is a cultural theory term, a collective masculine.

Tags: Classic Contemporary, contemporary art, SAM 8Q, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore artist, Suzann Victor

UPDATE:
Here’s a more detailed description of what’s happening tomorrow.

1100 hrs – 1200 hrs
Airan Berg
Artistic director for the Performing Arts of Linz Cultural Capital 2009, Airan shares with us his curatorial concepts and the programmes he curated for Linz Cultural Capital 2009.

1200 hrs – 1300 hrs
Gurur Ertem
Artistic Director of iDANS in Istanbul, specialist and writer on contemporary dance culture, Gurur will speak on temporarlity in current choreographic practices drawing from her festival, iDANS 02 and her latest publication project, Dance on Time!

1300 hrs – 1400 hrs
Heman Chong
Artist and curator from Singapore, Heman will give a lecture on 5 of his art projects.

1400 hrs – 1500 hrs
Mustafa Kaplan + Filiz Sizanli
Founders of the TALDANS Company in Turkey, Mustafa and Filiz will present their choreographic concepts in a sequence of movements, videos and conversation.

1500 hrs – 1600 hrs
Vlatka Horvat
A New York-based artist, Vlatka will be presenting a performance lecture comprising her current and past works.

1600 hrs – 1700 hrs
Jecko Siompo
One of Indonesia’s leading contemporary choreographers, Jecko will be talking about his past and present works, along with a new work that he is currently developing.

1700 hrs – 1900 hrs
Janez Jansa + Janez Jansa
They will be sharing their concept and idea behind their decision to change their names to Slovenia’s economical-liberal, conservative prime minister, Janez Jansa; and how this became one of the most impactful artworks.

1900 hrs – 2000 hrs
Zulkifle Mahmod
Sound-media artist from Singapore, Zul will present a sound performance based on the sound scapes which he has collected from his recent trip to Cambodia.

2000 hrs – 2100 hrs
Manuel Pelmus
Romanian dancer and choreographer, Manuel will present an intriguing solo piece. More will be unveiled at the presentation.

2100 hrs – 2200 hrs
Ashok Sukumaran
Contemporary artist from Mumbai, Ashok will present a work on ships and the Indian ocean; an art project that he did in the port of Sharjah.

2200 hrs – 2300 hrs
Eszter Salamon
Hungarian Choreographer based in Berlin, Eszter will present a solo piece based on John Cage’s Lecture On Nothing.

2300 hrs – 0000 hrs
Hafiz Dhaou
Contemporary dancer/ choreographer from Tunis, Hafiz will present a solo piece based on 2 dance projects which he presented in France; he will explore the exchange of ideas and thoughts with the audience.

0000hrs – 0100 hrs
Tim Etchells
Artist and writer based in London, Tim will present a text-based performance piece.

0100 hrs – 0200 hrs
Nelisiwe Xaba
Choreographer from Soweto, South Africa, Nelisiwe will present a solo performance of her latest work, Plasticization, and will also present video extracts of her other works.

0200 hrs – 0300 hrs
Tarek Atoui
An electro-acoustic musician from Lebanon, Tarek will present a full on sound performance.

***

Get some sleep tonight dudes. Tomorrow (January 16, Saturday) will be a crazy, hectic day, if you’re planning to attend Superintense, the next event under TheatreWorks’ Flying Circus Project series.

The artists are given an hour each to pretty much do anything – talk, perform, talk, perform… no Indonesians dancing on slabs of butter this year though.

Here’s the (more or less final) schedule. I’ll put in the updates if there are any.

11am to noon — Airan Berg

Noon to 1pm — Gurur Ertem

1pm to 2pm — Heman Chong

2pm to 3pm — Mustafa Kaplan + Filiz Sizanli

3pm to 4pm — Vlatka Horvat

4pm to 5pm — Jecko Siompo

5pm to 7pm — Janez Jansa + Janez Jansa (eh, how come got two hours?)

7pm to 8pm — Zulkifle Mahmod

8pm to 9pm — Tim Etchells

9pm to 10pm — Ashok Sukumaran

10pm to 11pm — Eszter Salamon

11pm to midnight — Hafiz Dhaou

Midnight to 1am — Manuel Pelmus

1am to 2am — Nelisiwe Xaba

2am to 3am — Tarek Atoui

It’s all happening at 72-13 Mohamed Sultan Road. Admission is free but register your attendance at 6737 7213 or tworks@singnet.com.sg. For more information on the artists, etc. click here or here. If you need a bit of background on what’s been happening so far, go here.

Tags: contemporary art, Flying Circus Project, Singapore artist, Superintense, TheatreWorks

The Institute of Critical Zoologists. Nice name innit? They’ve got an exhibition at the Esplanade Jendela beginning tomorrow for the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival. It’s called A Guide To The Common Flora And Fauna Of The World and it’s all about geckos. And smuggling. Or something like that.

But who in the world are they? To get to the bottom of this mystery, I asked their buddy photographer, Robert Zhao (or Zhao Renhui or whatever he likes to call himself these days) for an interview. But he said they preferred to do it via email. So here it is, all you animal lovahs. As you can see, these ICZedsters seem like very serious people.

***

Before I start, er, who am I talking to? 

I am Tomo Kawasaki, director of the Institute of Critical Zoologists.

And where are you right now? Are you based there?

I am in Kobe City, Japan. I spend half my time here and the other half in China, Singapore and London.

Sure or not?

No. Recently I am in charge of another project on Pulau Pejantan, so I will be in Indonesia for the next 2 years. Pulau Pejantan is a huge project that aligns with the core mission of the Institute and I have to be there personally to oversee the mission.

So how do you guys know Robert? Are you aware that he likes to lie about things? He said so himself.

One of our past staff members at the Institute contacted Robert when he was still a student in London. Soon Bo was impressed with his photographic work on zoos and hired Robert to photograph his own collection of dead animals.

Yes, I have had lunch with Robert a few times, and he mentioned that he’s trying to lie less. I am not sure why he said this but as far as I can see, most of his work has been associated (although sometimes loosely) with real events.

Out with it. Who’s the gecko geek in the group? I mean, why not butterflies? Or cats? Geckos aren’t exactly common fauna right? Or if you want something that can be easily smuggled inside books and still survive… aren’t there endangered earthworms somewhere?

I think the reason why Robert chose geckos was because he was closely following the original event that inspired this exhibition. In this case, he’s not lying. The Australian Customs’ discovery of 15 hollowed out books with geckos in them was an unusual but true event. Both the books and the discovery were amazing. 

Or, you know, snails. Snail mail. Geddit?

I get it. For snails, you have to line the book with plastic to prevent them from eating their way out of the books. Snails eat paper, like crickets.

How many geckos are you exhibiting? Do they have nicknames?

We are showing a few kinds of geckos: the toy ones which Robert used in his project and a real albino specimen from Dr. Yong. It’s not really a gecko but a lizard. The albino specimen looks very exotic.

Can we pet them?

They are lifeless so I guess it is possible.

As scientists, are you comfortable displaying your stuff in art galleries? I thought scientists were allergic to artists? (Or is it vice versa?)

Robert is a responsible individual who treats the Institute’s specimens with respect, so I am comfortable with loaning him things. I don’t think artists and scientists can’t be friends. We are not allergic to each other. I am always surprised by how artists interpret our work at the Institute. I think sometimes we (scientists) lack a little humour in our work when discussing something difficult like wildlife smuggling. It’s easy to dismiss smuggling as cruel, but it can be an interesting way to investigate human/animal relationships. If we do that, we might fail to see a bigger part of the relationship we have with animals. I think artists interpret this in nuanced ways.

You’re celebrating your 14th anniversary. How come we’ve never heard of you since, well, last year?

The Institute has been stepping up our involvement with the arts only three years ago. Before that we were interested in only nice paintings and photographs of animals. We have shifted to look at how artists are interpreting our research at the Institute. The public also gets to know more about what we do here, but seen through a different lens.

So now you have this new exhibition. Who’s this Dr. Yong that the notes talk about? 

Dr. Yong Di Ling, a specialist in reptiles, was a researcher with the ICZ. He was born in 1971. This exhibition explores wildlife smuggling as a chapter of the human/animal relationship.

So is he a smuggler or not ? And if he is, shame on ICZ. Tsk tsk.

Yes he was. We only knew about it when he left. We have a huge archive in our basement in Kobe and my colleagues discovered the books he left behind, which apparently looked like encyclopedias. What was weird about these books was that they were all hollowed out and of different sizes and had only about 10 pages in front. We later discovered that he had used them to post different kind of wildlife to different people. I think Dr. Yong was not interested in smuggling for money. There was something else he was interested in.

For some strange reason, this smuggling technique reminds us of philatelists. Just a random thought.

Yes, that was what I was beginning to realize with Robert’s project. To start with, most of the stamps used in different countries featured fruits and animals, which was really interesting. Did you know 80% of all stamps in the world carried an animal, fruit or plant before 1980. Since the global decline of species all over the world, animals only occupy 23% of stamp designs. They got taken over by pictures of transportation and buildings. Isn’t that amazing?

On the subject of albino pythons, which was apparently a specialty of Prof Yong, we found this question on Yahoo! Answers. Care to answer?

Can I breed two normals and get an albino ball python?

Yes of course. The first albino was from two normals!

Can you send us a photo of the group members? I’m sure it wouldn’t hard since Robert’s a top-notch art photographer. I just want to see if you’ve got any hot zoologist members. 

I will get my secretary to send you a picture from a recent conference. I’ll see to it that it gets done by next Thursday. Robert does not take portraits of our events.

We read this news story about pet dogs and how their huge-ass carbon footprints are actually more detrimental to the environment. Do you agree with this?

Nobody said that keeping pets was a way of loving nature at large.

What’s the carbon footprint of a gecko anyway?

It depends. I keep a gecko from Africa and I catch grasshoppers from my field trips to feed it. But I usually travel for miles in the car to get to these ‘pristine’ spaces where insects still roam wild, so I guess it’s a lot of carbon.

Do critical zoologists have secret handshakes?

Why do you ask?

***

The exhibit runs Jan 24 at the Esplanade Jendela, along with another exhibition, The Scale of Justice, by Burmese artist Htein Lin. Want to know more about ICZ? Click here.

Tags: contemporary art, Dr Yong, gecko, Institute of Critical Zoologists, M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, photography, Robert Zhao, Tomo Kawasaki, visual art

Better late than never! A couple of videos from the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial. The first one’s from Ohmaki Shinji of Japan and the second’s from Rohan Wealleans. Actually, it’s by Weallean’s twin brother — although it wasn’t announced during the performance. And no, he’s not the dude from Little Britain.

Tags: Asia Pacific Triennial, contemporary art, Rohan Welleans, Shinji Ohmaki

Yeah, economic recession and all. Not that giving out trophies or money was ever in our game plan. But still, it’s the thought that counts. Right? Right?

Anyway, there wasn’t enough space in Tuesday’s pages to put out all the “winners” so I’m re-posting the complete list of the highlights of the past year in the Singapore arts scene here.

Or at least, what I think were the highlights. Any thoughts? Fire away! And if you want to add to the list, by all means do so. Woot.

***

Art Event of the Year: The Road to Arts NMP

It was like Woodstock. Musicians, visual artists, theatre practitioners banded together, attended townhall meetings, and in the end, decided as a community to present two names for the position of Nominated Member of Parliament. The Substation co-artistic director Audrey Wong was chosen. Another attempt was made, this time for the Censorship Review Committee, which was promptly ignored. But hey, now we know it can be done right?

Play of the Year: Singapore’s Arts Bureaucracy

We’re not talking theatre “play” but sports “play”, seeing as it was a veritable round-robin in upper management, with Singapore’s “power players” being shifting around: Benson Puah and Michael Koh’s twin CEO portfolios (NAC and Esplanade, and NHB and the National Art Gallery, respectively); ex-NAC CEO Lee Suan Hiang heading a newly created office in MICA; National Museum’s Tan Boon Hui taking over as SAM director replacing Kwok Kian Chow who moves to NAG; ex-Singapore Biennale GM Low Kee Hong replacing Goh Ching Lee at the Singapore Arts Festival… Phew.

Strangest Art Installation: The Singapore Art Show

It was the biggest, island-wide art “installation” of 2009. We just didn’t know how to make sense of it. We tried. For two weeks. Honest.

The Prodigal Son Award: Glen Goei

We found out why he went AWOL in 2008. And while The Blue Mansion isn’t technically a play, you couldn’t help but think that it was – with actors Lim Kay Siu, Neo Swee Lin, Adrian Pang, Claire Wong, Tan Kheng Hua, Pam Oei, Huzir Sulaiman and Adrian Pang all joining in. But more than the movie, props for his inventive take on The Importance of Being Earnest — and getting Ivan Heng to play a woman again.

The Oomph Award: Poop

Before you even step inside a theatre, a play’s title establishes its presence. Like The Necessary Stage’s Sofaman. Or Poop. A single, monosyllabic word that’s cute and edgy at the same time. Not to mention the kind of conversation you’ll have after watching this play by The Finger Players. “I went to catch Poop” or “I love Poop! It was beautiful!”

The OMG, My HDB Flat Sucks Award: Much Ado About Nothing

The set had a friggin’ pool. Yes, Victor/Victoria’s two-storey building was the bomb, but Singapore Repertory Theatre’s Shakespeare production is probably the only time you’ll see a swimming pool in the middle of Fort Canning Park. The sound system sucked, but you could distract yourself by imagining you were playing peeping tom into the party at your rich neighbour’s landed property.

The Holy Cow, What’s That? Award: Mr. Sofaman in Sofaman

Was it a turban? No, it was a mini-sofa with video projector in it – that was resting on the head of an actor sitting in a wheelchair. The Necessary Stage’s collaboration with Russian group Theatre KnAM was challenging enough to watch, without you trying to figure out what that thing was on the head of someone who looked like Peter from Family Guy.

The David and Goliath Award: Twardzik Ching Chor Leng and THE Dance Company

A visual artist and a fledgling dance company tried to be ambitious. The former wanted to pump water from the Singapore River all the way to SAM 8Q for President’s Young Talents Award but the idea was shot down so she did a “mini-version” instead. The latter decided to stage a contemporary dance piece at The Esplanade Theatre without any sponsors. Both were gutsy attempts that impressed everyone – and showed us that art is also about pushing boundaries.

The Pass Me The Tissues Please Award: Poop

Like we said, it was a beautiful play about three generations of women coping with the death of their father/husband/son. It was magical, surreal, mundane, and, judging from all the sniffling in the audience, an extremely touching piece of theatre.

Best Mind Blowing Experience: The Comedy of the Tragic Goats

We enjoyed TheatreWorks’ recent anything-goes “dancing museum” showcase. But as a solid, one-off mind-f**k, Cake Theatrical Production’s word-less play about dictators and political prisoners takes the, er, cake. A visceral, visual experience that unearthed our masochistic impulses as theatre-goers – it was just as physically exhausting for the actors as it was for us. It was like being electrocuted. And loving it.

Oh Yeah, We Forgot About Them Award: Vertical Submarine

In a scene that takes itself too seriously most of the time, thank god we’ve got this, until now, under-rated three-member visual collective. The recent PYT winner mixes deadpan humour and sharp literary sensibilities to create installations that are fun as they are complex. They recently planted grey sunflowers at the Botanic Gardens too. 2009 was also the year when the establishment remembered that film-makers were also artists and gave the Young Artist Award to four of them.

The Paradigm Shift Award: Blackout and Open House

One was held in a warehouse, the other inside private homes. Salon Projects’ two group exhibitions proved you don’t have to wait for the next Singapore Biennale to see art in an out-of-the-box setting. And the crowds of people who visited agreed.

We also saw five local productions at the daunting Esplanade Theatre. They may not all have been financial successes, but we’re taking it as a sign of good things to come.

Best Art Exhibit (That You Missed): Archives and Desires

This retrospective on the late Mohammad Din Mohammad opened in 2008 but ran until February at the NUS Museum, which deserves more foot traffic for its well-planned exhibitions. The artist passed away in 2007 and, as you look at his vivid expressionistic paintings and bizarre, primal mix-media sculptures made of household stuff and tribal artefacts, you wonder why you only see bits and pieces in other shows.

The Patron of the Arts: You

Yes, we’re taking a leaf from Time magazine for this one. But it does hold true in a year plagued by the economic recession and swine flu. From our beloved “aunties” to the experimental freaks, kudos to everyone for watching theatre and dance performances and going to museums and galleries to catch exhibits. Same time, same place, next year?

“Uniquely Singapore” Medal of Valour: Ho Tzu Nyen, Ming Wong, Tang Fu Kuen, TheatreWorks

Even with the art scene going “traditional” for the next three years, it’s good to remember that the ones who flew the Singapore flag overseas in 2009 have been our most adventurous contemporary artists. From Ho’s films and videos at the Cannes, Berlin, and Venice Film Festivals and the Asia Pacific Triennial, to Wong and Tang’s victory at the Venice Biennale, to TheatreWorks’ Diaspora at the Edinburgh Festival.

Shameless Shout Out To Act In More Plays Award: Adrian Pang

Really, Adrian. Pretty please?

Best Painting Award: The Photograph

That the UOB Painting of the Year is a photograph for the second straight year means we can lay the debate to rest. It IS an art form. And painters, time to, ahem, brush up on your skills.

Avant-Garde Work of the Year: The Hossan Leong Show

You may think we’re taking a piss at arguably the most commercially crass show of 2009. But the product placements were just so “out there” that it’s practically undefinable. Think about it.

The Reality Bites Award: Institute of Critical Zoologists and Huang Wei

Photographer Zhao Renhui’s scientist “friends” and artist Alan Oei’s “discovery” of a cache of paintings by an unconventional Nanyang-era Singapore artist got people all riled up (and, in the case of Zhao, this reporter all fooled). But they did put imagination back on the table. It isn’t after all, about reality, but about art.

Artist of the Year: The Curator and Arts Programmer

The kinds of shows we see in galleries and on stage, the way they’re shown, yep, these unsung heroes have a hand in those too. It’s not just about hanging a painting on the wall.

Tags: Adrian Pang, Alan Oei, Archives and Desires, Arts NMP, Audrey Wong, Benson Puah, Blackout, Cake Theatrical Productions, Censorship Review Committee, Claire Wong, contemporary art, Diaspora, Esplanade, Glen Goei, Goh Ching Lee, Ho Tzu Nyen, Hossan Leong, Huang Wei, Huzir Sulaiman, Institute of Critical Zoologists, Ivan Heng, Kwok Kian Chow, Lee Suan Hiang, Lim Kay Siu, Low Kee Hong, MICA, Michael Koh, Ming Wong, Mohammad Din Mohammad, Much Ado About Nothing, NAC, National Art Gallery, Neo Swee Lin, NHB, NUS Museum, Open House, Pam Oei, Poop, President's Young Talents, Salon Projects, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Art Show, Singapore Arts Festival, Singapore Biennale, Singapore Repertory Theatre, Singapore theatre, Sofaman, Tan Boon Hui, Tan Kheng Hua, Tang Fu Kuen, The Blue Mansion, The Comedy of the Tragic Goats, THE Dance Company, The Finger Players, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Necessary Stage, The Substation, TheatreWorks, Twardzik Ching Chor Leng, Victor/Victoria, visual art, Zhao Renhui

Actually, it’s really a quick but serious Q&A.

I wasn’t prepared to poke fun at him and the Biennale during the press conference (announcing the theme – or “vibe” as film writer Ben Slater says — of Open House) because I had my “serious” journalist hat on. Serious. Bwaha.

I know the actual event is, like, light years from now but hey, like Tang Da Wu, it’s pretty hard to get a hold of this guy since his studio is in Perth.

I really should stop mentioning Tang Da Wu in my blog post. What if I do get the chance to meet him? He probably hates my guts now. Assuming of course he reads this blog. So yeah, I shall refrain from any more Tang Da Wu asides.

Aside from this last one (for 2009, that is).

To the people at SAM or NAG, I demand a Tang Da Wu retrospective. The guy deserves it. Singapore deserves it.

Anyway, back to Matthew. Here ya go.

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Here’s a question from June Yap. What’s with the timing of the Biennale? Won’t you miss out on international visitors who go hopping from one Tri/Bi to another? Last time, there was that Art Compass thingee with Sydney, Gwangju, Shanghai and Yokohama?

(Okay, I sort of didn’t get what he said verbatim because it was noisy but Matthew did admit it’s not during the “Biennale season” – and well, since they shifted it a year later, you’d have only caught Yokohama anyway. Also he said the plan was to time it away from the big events like F1 and the Youth Olympics so there won’t be any clash with sponsors that’ll “suck” all the sponsorship money. Here’s the only thing I clearly heard:)

It’s not a crucial thing. Sao Paulo Biennale, it’s kind of there on its own.

How do you plan to differentiate SB from other biennales and triennales (and even art fairs, since these all get conflated, in the public’s eye as these generic mega art events)?

In my mind, I’m not into differentiating one biennale from another. I believe an event is there because it’s a conflation of things. The Biennale would never have happened if IMF never occurred in 2006. But with the success of that, it continued. A lot of things are dependent on chance and different interests coming together.

So where is SB in the whole scheme of things, these complex web of biennales?

The biennale is an animal of sorts. And the rule of natural selection also applies to it. Biennales come and go. Some have lasted a long time, because they emanate from the spaces that built themselves upon it to survive. In Singapore, it’s a different situation – we won’t need the Biennale to survive, in terms of the nation. But the Biennale is really desirable because it shifts our thinking, both as practitioners here in Singapore and the public. It gives a platform for the public to come in and experience art in all levels.

How about its relevance as a biennale?

As an exhibition project, it’s still relevant. I think we can still push. But each time, we have to look critically at what it means to hold an exhibition.

Where are we right now in this biennale trend? Have we approached critical mass?

In my opinion, ten years ago, when a new biennale comes on the market, everybody goes “Ohh, there’s a new Biennale”. Now, people go “Uhm, yeah, it’s another exhibition.” If you look at that in that fashion, there’s a saturation of biennales internationally.

Now whether or not people should go ahead and build a new one, I think depends on the local circumstances. But I don’t think the idea is as novel anymore.

Unless within the biennale, the model changes, as opposed to making a straightforward thematic show based on a strict curatorial regimen.

Tags: art biennale, contemporary art, Matthew N, Singapore art, Singapore Biennale

They’ve publicly announced the theme. It’s as generic and inclusive as Belief and Wonder from the previous editions but get this, it’s two words.

Open House. Tada!

Yes, it sounds suspiciously like that multi-artist, multi-venue visual arts event organised by Salon Projects that was recently held in Niven Road.

I wonder how this will affect OH!’s branding, seeing as Alan Oei and gang will be doing it on a regular basis. 

Anyway, other details. It will be held from March 6 to May 8 in 2011. Around 50 artists. Confirmed venues are Singapore Art Museum (which is the new organiser) and the National Museum of Singapore. Venues “in discussion” but will most likely be a go are the Old Kallang Airport (the hangar would be an excellent place for big works) and Central Promontory Site.

Artistic director Matthew Ngui also underscored what may be a relatively new direction for this comign SB — a lot of artists flying in to work specifically and develop things on-site, highlighting the artistic creative process.

As for whether the Singapore Art Show will be incorporated into or somewhat tied in with the Singapore Biennale (seeing that SAS is slated for 2011 and there have been those suggesting this is the way to go for SAS), NAC’s Philip Francis said nothing’s been firmed up yet but it’s a “possibility. I wouldn’t discount the fact.”

Tags: Central Promontory Site, contemporary art, Matthew Ngui, National Arts Council, National Museum of Singapore, Old Kallang Airport, Open House, Philip Francis, Salon Projects, Singapore art, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Art Show, Singapore Biennale

In-flight (Project: Another Country) by Brisbane-based Filipino couple Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan is one of the works in APT6 that works effectively for both adult and child.

Visitors can create their own planes from whatever materials are on hand and add to the growing pile that’s both a fun activity and a critique on issues of migration.

And it will continue to grow. What the final results are – a mountain of a mess or simply a grand mountain — when the Triennial ends next April is, well, up in the air at the moment.

But you can’t deny its impact.

Contemporary art-as-big spectacle has its fair share of critics. In Singapore this year, there were at least two group shows (D. Minor and Eniminimimos) that reacted directly to exactly this notion by presenting the beauty and power of small art.

Indeed, some contemporary artworks rely on this initial effect of overwhelming you with its hugeness. You stand in front of this Goliath and are humbled. Alternatively, you cower.

But more often than not, big works aren’t things you can easily dismiss with a “I can also do that.”

There are those, however, that do not offer anything new. After the initial awe, I can now hardly remember anything significant about Chen Qiulin’s installation of a traditional wooden Chinese house.

Except that it’s a masterpiece in terms of logistical planning. Because it just stands there cold and empty, the supposed gravitas is absent – or washed away by the Three Gorges Dam project it criticises.

But that’s not to disparage huge works as a whole. I still like Subodh Gupta’s mushroom cloud sculpture. At his talk on Saturday, the Indian artist also came up with an interesting analogy in defense of his 5m high work (which apparently isn’t the biggest version – there’s a 10m one).

He compares it to watching Hindi movies “(that) are full of drama”, specifically the idea of the cinematic climax in a larger-than-life setting.

“People know (what’s going to happen in the climax) but they want to watch it,” he said.

We want to see the artwork as climax. An atomic mushroom bomb is one, obviously. Compared to that, Chen’s traditional house seems more of a footnote. Or one of those numerous “epilogues” in the final The Lord Of The Rings movie.

Meanwhile,the Aquilizans’s mountain of hand-made planes is a story in progress. A very interesting one at that.

***

Despite the novelty of seeing art coming from North Korea, the question of whether or not these were “contemporary art” was one question that was in the minds of some people.

A mosaic tile work and a bunch of prints greet you at the entrance – all looking pretty much like they were made in China during Mao’s Cultural Revolution in the `60s.

But during a talk last Saturday, Nick Bonner, co-curator of the Mansudae Art Studio sub-section, insisted these are contemporary, primarily because most were created (with mediation from the curators) very recently. As in, this year.

Like Bonner, I was disappointed that politics got in the way of art yet again. Five of the North Koreans who work at the said art studio were slated to come but were denied visas by the Australian government. North Korea isn’t recognized as a trading partner, along with some of the participating countries this year, like Myanmar and Iran.

Nevertheless, Bonner (a Beijing-based Brit filmmaker who regularly organizes travels tour to and is in touch with art studios in DPRK –such a cool graffiti collective sounding acronym isn’t it?) made up for it with his passionate exposition on the works. (I dub thee, the Uli Sigg of North Korea, Nick).

He began by acknowledging the viewer’s set perceptions of what “North Korean art” is – the reason why the curators placed the mosaic piece right at the entrance.

But Bonner moved on to point out the differences – prints of obvious propaganda import share space with those that would probably be regarded as reactionary in Maoist `60s China, e.g.. pure landscapes.

Equally important was the gesture of giving these unknown artists a human face. Bonner peppered his talk with anecdotes that reveal his admiration and respect for the artists.

No, North Korean artists are not in ball and chains. Art making is “a natural process. They’re not forced,” he said, describing their day-to-day schedule at the studios as something akin to that of a full-time, workaholic commercial artist.

He also had some amusing stories, particularly in how he dealt with the artists in the creation of five paintings (i.e. tell them to try something different from their socialist realist-informed practices without saying “try to paint something true or real” because as Bonner said, these propaganda-type representations are their truths).

It may not be contemporary art for most folks, but as Bonner said, “it is contemporary for North Korea”.

Instead of clinging to the idea of “them” catching up us and with the rest of the world, maybe one should approach the show from the position of us getting up to date with what’s happening over there.

***

This is my last post on the APT6, but I’ll try to put up a couple of videos on some of the works soon, but for now, this is the RAT signing off from Brisbane.

God, I miss nasi lemak…

Tags: Alfredo Aquilizan, Asia Pacific Triennial, big art, Brisbane, Chen Qiulin, contemporary art, D. Minor, Eniminiminimos, installation, Isabel Aquilizan, Mansudae Art Studio, Nick Bonner, North Korea, sculpture, Subodh Gupta