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May15
What’s on in Singapore’s art
scene this month
ON THE
WALL
ARTS&LEISURE
HOUSE VS HOME
To American artist Monica Dixon, space is both a presence and an
absence, and it’s the instrument she uses to challenge our perception
of our own individual identities. In her new exhibition,
A Universal Truth
,
Monica explores the opposition between who we are and what we are.
She does this through a series of seemingly simple images that force
us to reflect on the division between the physical space of a house – a
structure often taken for granted – and the social constructs of a home.
By manipulating space and light, she creates a timeless world with neither
man nor machine, desolate interiors stripped of the possessions that give
our lives meaning and distinguish a house from a home; and exterior
landscapes that depict detailed structures situated on vast plains. In
these images, she aims to highlight the idea of the house as a vessel for
our distinct identities rather than just meeting a primal need for shelter,
making us think about what a home means, and how we we shape the
spaces we occupy. See it until 10 June at Barnadas Huang art gallery,
61 Duxton Road.
AN
ILLUSIONARY
TALE
Now on d i sp l ay
at the Museum of
Contemporary Art
( MoCA ) i s
Th e
Leftover Banquet
,
a solo exhibition
featuring 15 works
by Zhang Linhai,
one of China’s most
prominent contemporary artists. Directly inspired by the tragedies of
his childhood – his life in an orphanage, his poverty and the physical
disabilities he suffered as a result of polio – the Shanghai-born artist
explores a haunting world that expresses a range of emotions from
sadness and fear to desolation and alienation. The courageous young
boy who can be seen throughout the narrative personifies Linhai’s dreams
of freedom; in some works, various animals symbolically replace the boy
as the hero, perhaps implying a dystopian view of society. Personal and
politically charged, each piece blends surrealism and realism, and serves
as a commentary on the struggle against inequality, poverty and loneliness,
woven in with feelings of nostalgia. See it until 31 May at MoCA@Loewen,
27A Loewen Road.
IDEALISTIC IMAGERY
In Singapore Art Museum’s (SAM) latest exhibition,
After Utopia: Revisiting The Ideal in Asian
Contemporary Art
, humanity’s eternal yearning
for a better world is examined through Southeast
Asian and Asian contemporary art from the
museum’s permanent collection, as well as artwork
from private collections and new commissions.
Among the featured artists are abstract painter, Ian
Woo, and Donna Ong, known for her immersive
installations that transform found objects into
dream-like narratives.
Separated into four chapters, the exhibition
delves into all sorts of ideals and principles, from
an exploration of the garden as a metaphor for
paradise lost, to an examination of the ideologies
on which nations and societies have been built, to
a look at urban planning’s utopian impulse and
how its ideals fall short when translated into reality.
Lastly, the exhibition reminds viewers that “utopia”
derives from the Greek root meaning “no place”
and is merely an idealised world that exists only
within ourselves. See it until 18 October at SAM,
71 Bras Basah Road.
singaporeartmuseum.sg