Singapore Art Week 2021 Round-Up (Part 1)

Yavuz Gallery, Singapore Art Museum, Mama Magnet, NTU Museum, Singapore Ceramics Now!
By Alana Malika

Ian Tee, '完全感覚 DREAMER', 2020, acrylic, target papers, comic strips, bandana, reflective tape and collage on destroyed aluminium composite panel, 120 x 90cm. Image courtesy of the artist and Yavuz Gallery.

 Kill Your Darlings
The solo exhibition ‘Kill Your Darlings’ by Ian Tee at Yavuz Gallery interrogates the artist’s process of writing with purpose. It is dedicated to the things that are sacrificed in order to let a narrative emerge, be they unobtainable aspirations, passing acquaintances or habits one has outgrown. Tee’s suite of ‘Target paintings’ are collages of pop culture and historical references overlayed with target papers to symbolize their vulnerability to the artist’s knife slashing the painting. Works in the 'Fire Blanket' series present quilts made up of trimmings from old clothes and industrial safety materials sewn together with harsh lines in contrast to its soft texture and fragile patchwork.

Yavuz Gallery, 16 to 31 January 2021.

Choy Ka Fai, ‘The Wanderer’, 2020, video still. Image courtesy of the artist.

CosmicWander: Expedition A Work-in-Progress by Choy Ka Fai
Choy Ka Fai presents the human body as a vessel for metaphysical exploration of different states of consciousness in ‘CosmicWander: Expedition A Work-in-Progress’ with Singapore Art Museum. Choy met with more than 50 shamans to study and film shamanic dances across Asia when he travelled from the desolate deserts of Siberia to the mystical corners of Java. The artist synthesised the transcendent elements of his research with the technological sophistication of his art form to create a production that reimagines trance experiences as a supernatural way of knowing.

Singapore Art Museum at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 15th January to 21st February 2021, 12PM to 7PM (except on 16 January and 22 January where it will open from 12PM to 5PM)

Rezna Hasni, ‘Enchanted Forest’, 2020, graphic illustration. Image courtesy of the artist.

Inner Like the OutAR
Illustrator Reza Hasni, interactive designer Siah Tiong Hong, set designer Tina Fung and sound producer Intriguant which use web augmented reality (WebAR) to create ‘Inner Like the OutAR’. MAMA MAGNET, founded by Tulika Ahuja, presents these psychotropic landscapes utilise WebAR to push the boundaries of sense perception using organic shapes borrowed from nature rendered in a palette of artificial neon hues. Hasni’s attempt to digitally recreate the magic of nature intends to give viewers “an open mind and form renewed connections with the physical world.”

MAMA MAGNET at Gillman Barracks, 19 to 31 January 2021. Register for a slot here.

Exhibition view of 'A Familiar Forest', 2020. Image courtesy of the artist.

A Familiar Forest
NTU Museum will host ‘A Familiar Forest’ by environmental artist Zen Teh. The immersive multi-sensory journey puts viewers in a state of hygge, or a feeling of contentment, to prove scientific theories that correlate human wellness with one’s proximity to nature. Teh’s presentation of 34 multi-layered photographs featuring Singapore’s natural sites is accompanied by ambient light and sounds as well as a healing scent. There are many anxieties surround the Anthropocene discourse about humanity’s crushing footprint on mother nature, and in light of this installation aims to be a tranquil enclave for our collective return to interconnectedness with nature.

NTU Museum, 21 to 30 January 2021. Monday to Friday , 8.30 AM to 9.15 PM. Saturday, 8.30AM to 4.45PM.

Madhvi Subrahmanian, ‘Pandemic Pill (detail)’, acrylic boxes, sand and stoneware, 2020, various dimensions. Image courtesy of Singapore Ceramics Now!

Marking | Making: Re-imagining Ceramics Through Fresh Eyes
Singapore Ceramics Now! 2021 (SCN) presents ‘Marking | Making: Re-imagining Ceramics Through Fresh Eyes’ organised by Jason Lim and the curatorial team at SEED The Art Space. The exhibition will feature works from 19 Singapore-based ceramicists that strike a balance between revisiting and reinventing the medium of clay. In their inaugural exhibition, SCN aims to establish ceramic arts as a cultural touchstone of Singapore. The exhibition includes complimentary programmes like a Raku firing demonstration (a Japanese pottery process), as well as talks that analyse the contemporary influences that mould the ceramic arts community in Singapore. 

Singapore Ceramics Now! in Gillman Barracks , 20 January to 13 February 2021.

Maybe we read too much into things
‘Maybe we read too much into things’ assembles six artists from varying artistic disciplines to explore the material potential of everyday objects. Aki Hassan, Daniel Chong, Kevin Fee, Genevieve Leong, Leow Wei Li and Ryan Benjamin Lee recontextualise everyday objects with their respective disciplines ranging from animation to painting. These works draw viewers in with the familiar comfort each object represents, which is subverted through the aesthetic reconfiguration of a biscuit, a clothes peg, an earplug, a flower, a sponge, and the handle of a screwdriver.

Maybe we read too much into things at 72-13, 21 to 30 January 2021, Tuesday to Sunday, 12PM to 7PM or by appointment.

Look out for our next installment of our Singapore Art Week Round-Up on Monday, January 18 2021.