【Singapore Art Week-1】 2017 ArtStage through Photography’s Perspective

2017ArtStage　從攝影的角度出發

ArtStage opens up the year of art in Asia and gallerist from 27 countries and a total of 131 galleries participate in the 7th edition of the fair. The fair’s aim is to emphasize art in Southeast Asia which lead to the launch of the inaugural edition of ArtStage Jakarta in Indonesia a couple months ago. As many have seek to unravel the directions of the fair, its profit for gallerist and its status among Asia I would like to bring the focus to photography’s role in the fair and again more precisely photography’s trends in the Asia region.

Art fairs which have works allocated from various countries have the tendency to portray an image of diversity yet it should be remembered the sole purposes of fairs is to sell works, therefore catering to the preferences of collectors in the particular region would be the main goal. This factor, is strongly present in Artstage 2017 where one would find Edward Burtynsky’s Canola Fields #2 shot in Luoping Yunan Province, China which one rarely sees, Jean-Francois Rauzier hyperphotos of Singapore related themes and Drew Tal’s Porcelain Promises. 

(Jean-Francois Rauzier's hyperphoto)

Among the fair there appears to be a silent pact of presenting Asian centered themes with beautiful and slightly decorative images. Nevertheless, ArtStage’s openness to photography should be cherished in Asia for entering the fair audiences are confronted with colossal images from Birdhead presented by ShanghArt Gallery and the first gallery one encounters (Sundaram Tagore gallery) presents a Salgado facing the main entrance. Works from Edgar Martin, Michael Wolf can also be seen in the fair. Furthermore, among the Collector’s Stage six of Lee Friendlander’s works are exhibited. This is a good sign for the medium is regarded as an art form in this region and collectors have a general knowledge for photography and are interested in collecting.


　　　　　　　　　       

(Left: Michael Wolf's work/ Right: Lee Friendlander's works)

Among the works several Asian artists are exploring interesting elements in their works. Malaysian artist Rajinder Singh’s Wound Bloom, where black and white images are mapped out and pinned up neatly on the whole wall is one worth its attention. Scarred fragmented deities, penetration of acupuncture-like needles and patterns of temples unravel the idea of different forms that wounds portray either physically or mentally. Japanese artist Michiko Isono, Untitled-1 produces a unique image of a photo collage where thousands of “Kan-ban”(signs) are scattered on a dark background but digitally and delicately positioned forming a galaxy-like image.

　　　

(Michiko Isono's-Untitled-1)　　　

These signs are signifiers of fragments in everyday life where people overlook but sculpt our characters and the interest of the relationship of the mass and individual is expressed in this piece. Chinese Artist Chen Wei’s Paris Night in its blow up size depicts the contrast of architecture and signage, where “夜巴黎”(Paris Night) in shiny neon lights is juxtaposed with the deserted and traditional Karaoke place that holds meaning to Asian viewers. Lending from the earlier observation beautiful and decorative images appears to be where the current trend is gravitating towards. Photography in this region, being relatively young compared to the West is still a developing trend and can be seen as a beginning. Simultaneously in a region where love for antiquity and modern aesthetics are highly valued the trend of beauty and decorative elements may be seen as a form of style. On the other hand, regarding price point the gallerist chose works that are generally below 20,000USD for the fair.