【Singapore Art week-2】 2016 Singapore Biennale in SAM,NMS,SAM at8Q

“An atlas of mirrors-at once,many worlds ”

2016新加坡雙年展

Deng Guoyuan’s Noah’s Garden II

     In the social media bombarded era the Singapore Biennale 2016 entitled “An atlas of Mirrors was well publicized on instagram and twitter. The reflective, glitzy works and installations were scattered among audiences’ accounts and proved themselves worthy of being recorded on our phones. The theme of this biennale with nine strands flow between SAM, SAM at 8Q,National museum of Singapore and much more. Although works like Deng Guoyuan’s Noah’s Garden II with its spinning mirror and florescent plants that appear if as from another world and Harumi Yukutake’s Paracosmos with tons of hand cut oval mirrors embed the spiral staircase, these “picture worthy” works do project a simple concept of “reflection”. Reflecting the world we occupy and how we see and wish to be perceived which might be on point for it explains the need to post images online and the welcoming museum sitters who encourage picture taking. The other element of the exhibition which are maps and voyages also consist of works like Ryan Villamael’s Locus Amoenus where intricate archaic and contemporary maps are cut out and assembled as beautiful vines and situated in the “greenhouse” area of SAM. Also, the stunning History Repeats Itself by Titarubi where thee three gold-plated nutmeg built robes are placed upon burnt out ships suggesting the colonial conquest and how money(nutmegs) was acquired through these expeditions. The cultural melting-pot or more precisely the challenges that island countries face often links itself to identity and in some cases a thornier subject colonialism. In search of these subject matters various works were put along side by side to explore and in hopes for audience to mentally and physically reflect.

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(Left: Ryan Villamael’s Locus Amoenus / Right: Titarubi's History Repeats Itself)

Despite such a grand theme with ambition which is common with biennales several other works hidden from social media peaked through and are worth sharing. Growing by Hemali Bhuta is a particularly intriguing work since the sense of smell is brought into this installation. A mass of incense sticks are strung together creating a big block and the scents intertwine with each other. One strong scent is met with audiences before entering the space where the work is situated yet moving closely to the installation various singular scents can be clearly picked out from the rest. According to the artists the need for humans to be singular and coexist in a bigger unity yet shine as an individual is the concept of the work, linking neatly with Singapore’s development as a country filled with various cultures. Culture a term that is impossible to strictly identify as singular is shaped through time, influences and people. Broadening the perspective, island countries in Asia are encountering similar challenges which makes this Biennale relatable for a wider scope of people not just strictly to Singaporeans.

(Up: Growing by Hemali Bhuta
Down: Dawn Ng’s Mamashop)

The image of culture in the present is undeniably filled with possibilities and hardships. Endless hours at Sea by Martha Atienza may be interpreting one of the hardships. It is an installation that combines video, water and stainless steel where viewers walking into the space appear to have immersed themselves in a submarine/boat and looks out from a tiny projected window that moves up and down with the waves. The concept illustrates the relationship of water and land for one travels and is separated by these natural barriers and Martha a Filipino artist wishes to express how majority of Filipinos work ”overseas ” and the emotional and psychological state of these people. Nevertheless, possibility is built on hardships mixed with a dose of hope. In Dawn Ng’s Mamashop the uncertainty and complexity of possibilities is portrayed with “Everything you ever need is right here” cut out block letters disturbing the photograph of a seemingly well-equipped grocery shop. But the meaning of “everything” lacks its persuasiveness for the image is far from complete creating a tug between the words and the photograph itself. Lastly a multimedia installation which capitulates fragments of vernacular moments with a little girl opening and closing a music box. In Sarah Choo Jing’s The Hidden Dimensions II in a 65 seconds loop the discrepancy of music from the music box and sounds of everyday life is presented. The sudden clasp of the music box closing matched with expressions and movements of the characters disrupts the ordinary but staged scenes. Producing a rapid climax for audiences and leaving a hollowness and space to ponder what life or possibilities means for a little girl.

(Sarah Choo Jing’s The Hidden Dimensions II)

Oddly during the exhibition David Mitchel’s book Cloud Atlas kept creeping into one’s mind. The voyages, maps, different cultures, and seeking identity all scattered like elusive elements of a bigger universe but yet connected in its own way is a miraculous feeling. The seemingly straightforward biennale does have its charm beneath the glistening works, for to reflect one’s state of understanding of oneself is after all the objective.