‘Being Made’ at Art Agenda
Sculptures by Brother Joseph McNally and Shui Tit Sing
By Jess Lim
‘Being Made’, Art Agenda, 2023, installation view. Image courtesy of Art Agenda.
Running from 10 August to 30 September 2023, ‘Being Made’ at Art Agenda showcases 16 wood sculptures from Singapore artists Brother Joseph McNally (1923-2002) and Shui Tit Sing (1914-1997). The exhibition title, ‘Being Made’, captures the transformation that occurs under a sculptor’s hand when a tree as a living being is turned into the sculptural medium of wood, and reinvigorated with new life.
The liveliness endowed upon each piece by its sculptor’s hand is further brought to the fore by art director Gagandeep Singh Sidhu, who worked on the exhibition design. “I designed a space that merged natural and man-made materials without presenting them in their true form,” he says. “For instance, foliage is represented via green hand-painted wood planks which line the ground visitors walk on. Instead of being upright, mirrors are placed on the ground or fold against a pillar which offer the viewer different perspectives to look at each sculpture.” The result is an immersive experience that draws the viewer into contemplating both the materiality of the sculptures and the stories that they tell.
‘Being Made’, Art Agenda, 2023, installation view. Image courtesy of Art Agenda.
The vignettes by Gandeep, created in conversation with the artworks, transform how we see the sculptures. Rather than static objects frozen in time, they appear to be playful, lively entities infused with personality. Shui’s detailed representations of the day-to-day lived experiences of Southeast Asian life in teak create a juxtaposition with Brother McNally’s abstract pieces, usually made with bog wood. Seen together, the works of these master sculptors reveal the multivalent potential of wood as material.
‘Being Made’ brings together the two contemporaries through the medium of wood sculptures, and encourages us to think about commonalities between their practices, while challenging the conventional exhibition format. “Brother Joseph McNally and Shui Tit Sing are less celebrated modern artists today compared to some of their contemporaries in 20th-century Singapore art," says Wang Zineng, Founder, Art Agenda. "As sculptors, they had to overcome greater challenges compared to mainstream painters and their respective steadfastness to their chosen medium should be admired. We want 'Being Made' to present a totally different experience of both sculptors’ works and challenge prevailing understandings and expectations of the art of sculpture as well as exhibition curating.”
“We want ‘Being Made’ to present a totally different experience of both sculptors’ works and challenge prevailing understandings and expectations of the art of sculpture as well as exhibition curating.”
Shui Tit Sing, ‘Pounding Rice (舂米)’, 1979, teak, 48.5 x 93 x 12.5cm, installation view in ‘Being Made’. Image courtesy of Art Agenda.
Among the eight sculptures by Shui on show, the frieze-like ‘Pounding Rice’ (1979) depicts the Dayak people of Borneo pounding rice in intricate detail. Executed in teak, his favoured medium, the piece features 12 figures with sinuous limbs, with each of them “dressed” from the waist down through expertly carved creases that highlight their dynamic poses.
Brother Joseph McNally, ‘Bog Wood Fish’, 2000, bog wood, 95 x 77 x 15cm, installation view in ‘Being Made’. Image courtesy of Art Agenda.
Contrasted with Shui’s detailed works, the economy that Brother McNally favoured in his abstract sculptures comes through. When appraising ‘Bog Wood Fish’ (2000), a label on the green plank next to it reads: “Certainly no fish ever took this shape. But somehow when I placed the marble globe where it is now, the top began to look like a fish head.” This helps the viewer to see the sculpture as Brother McNally had, with vivid imagination.
On the mezzanine floor, a showcase of archival materials complements the exhibition. C0-curated by artist-archivist Koh Nguang How and Wang, the display of primary materials on Shui features exhibition catalogues and magazines, as well as publications from Catholic High School, where Shui taught Chinese language for nearly 30 years.
Additionally, Koh has included images of material from Shui’s own archive, of which he is guardian, to illustrate the sculptor’s artistic process. “I suppose most exhibition visitors only see the finished work of artists, be it painting or sculpture, so for this exhibition, I tried to present the related materials created by Shui,” says Koh. “The materials include the photographs taken by him during the Ten Men Art Group trips in Southeast Asia, images of his notes, and some photographs of him with his unfinished works in progress.”
Similarly, the archival display on Brother McNally reveals his approach to making wood sculptures in an artistic practice that spanned over four decades. It also touches upon his life as an educator, notably as founder of LASALLE College of the Arts, which recently launched centenary celebrations in his honour.
The archival showcase complements the display of the artists’ sculptural works. Altogether, the exhibition, with its unique combination of unexpected elements, will be informative–and eye-opening–for those already familiar with their oeuvres, and those who are encountering them for the first time.
‘Being Made’ is on view at Art Agenda from 10 August to 30 September 2023. The gallery is located at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, above the Singapore Art Museum.
About the Writer
Jess Lim is an undergraduate student studying English Literature and Art History at Nanyang Technological University. Currently, one of her great pleasures in life is putting up captions at art exhibitions.
