It's an exciting day! Such a long time since I have a full free weekend without work. Moreover, D and I are going museum-hopping today - to be part of Singapore Biennale!
"If The World Changed, the title of the 4th Singapore Biennale, is an invitation to artists to respond to and reconsider the worlds we live in, and the worlds we want to live in." - Singapore Biennale official website (www.singaporebiennale.org)
First stop - Singapore Art Museum (SAM)
be greeted by random bending fingers...
This installation features a traditional wooden boat with 1,000 bottles, each pasted with the aspirations and dreams from male prison inmates in Singapore.
What's most interesting is that the artist adds in the interactive element by allowing us to communicate back to the inmates though these little notes as well.
Just to go through some of my favourite works at SAM:
Anahata by Kunari Nahappan
4,000 kg worth of saga seeds. The largest collection I've ever seen. It may be just a mountain of saga seeds to some, but it brings back memories for me. Those times when my cousin and I collect containers of saga seeds for don't know what reasons. Known also as love seeds, these are the best way of declaring your love for another person that doesn't cost a cent.
Cosmology of Life by Toni Kanwa
I am impressed by how the artist can carve out such miniature sculptures with his hands. Each one of them is different and expresses his worldview of nature, spirituality and the macro and micro cosmos. Easily my favourite piece of installation at SAM.
The Sick Classroom by Nge Lay
The artist teleports us to a Grade 1's classroom in a village in Myanmar. This walk-in installation gives you a feel of how education in a developing country is the key to social mobility. Yet at the same time, it is an avenue for the government to regulate the thoughts and behaviour of the future generation. Nge Lay uses the classroom to explain her anxieties and concerns towards the uncertainty of the future.
Little Soap Boy by Vu Hong Ninh
What a rude soap baby!
Yes, it is entirely made of soap and you can touch and feel it for yourself!
Next, to SAM @ 8Q
Waiting Room by Shieko Reto
I couldn't really understand this installation, probably due to the language barrier.
After reading the description, I realised this room depicts the various waiting phases faced by transgender individuals - for family acceptances, legislation of official personal documents, for acceptance into the workforce and employment. The drawings all around the room appeals for public openness and acceptance. This is apt in portraying the inner struggles of the minority in conservative asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore.
"Happy and Free" by Boo Junfeng
Went to google this film-maker, and the short paragraph at his site gives you a whole picture of what his installation is all about:
Responding to the Singapore Biennale 2013 theme ‘If The World Changed’, Boo imagines a Singapore that never separated from Malaysia, by presenting a music video where audiences are invited to sing along to the lyrics of “Happy And Free”, a song commissioned in 1963 by Singapore’s Ministry of Culture to celebrate the merger. Using the tropes of nation-building campaigns and borrowing from the conventions of karaoke videos, Boo’s work presents vignettes of Singapore’s past and imagined present as an accompaniment to the jazzy rendition of “Happy And Free”, inviting viewers to imagine how differently we might conceive of ourselves and our identity in the 50th year of merger with Malaysia, and the implications for the issues we face today.
me posing in the disco room setting.
The Loofah Trellis by Nguyen Thi Hoai Tho
Loofah is a slang to describe lactating mothers or women past middle age in Vietnam. The artist uses her art to depict the objectification of women in a patriarchal society.
Final museum stop for the day - National Museum of Singapore
Wormhole by Eko Prawoko
This bamboo installation cannot be missed. It's so big and it stands out among the greenery and modern buildings around it. Walking inside the structure with natural light shining in and the smell of bamboo makes me feel closer to nature. It's like bringing culture and nature closer to your heart.
Lumbung Ilmu (Granary of Knowledge) by Rosid
Toy (Churning of the Sea of Milk) by Svay Sareth
I love how the art installation at this year's Singapore Biennale are interactive and allow us to use our various senses to feel and understand the works of the artists. It adds layers of surprises and allow young and old to enjoy - you don't need to be some artsy fartsy person to enjoy the installations!
I was simply amazed by some of the works, but was also dumbfounded by others when D and I will just go "HUH. I also can do this" kinda feeling. I believe art lies not in the complexity but in how it can evoke the emotions in people and allow them to relate to the art pieces.
Found the LOVE structure on the way to town after it disappeared next to Fish & Co. glasshouse!
My favourite cup of Blackball 3Q Passionfruit tea before the second half programme.
It's Deepavali that day too, so we just had to visit Little India and see if we could catch the parade just like 2 years before =) Unfortunately we were too early, parade only starts at 9pm! So we just stroll around and visit Mustafa, my favourite place for cheap and nice watches, and a wide selection of drinks you never seen before.
That marks the end of my past weekend!
I'm waiting for D to come to start the second consecutive weekend where I have no work!
Love,
M
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