Modern Art with a Distinctly Asian Twist
by Alexandra Touchaud, writer and artist
The National Museum feels olde-worlde familiar – one can wander between towering gardens of marble columns under the Neo-Palladian dome, light filtering through the Victorian stained glass windows, high heels clattering past shush’ed groups of earnest school children wallowing in this grand depository of history, where precious art and artefacts bring to life Singapore’s story from the 14th Century on.
And yet… descend to the basement gallery, blink, and open your eyes to the noise, lights, colour, confusion and creativity that can only be a modern art exhibition.
Until the 2nd September 2018 visitors can view the finalist artworks from the Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation Signature Art Prize. Returning for its 4th edition this year the exhibition showcases some of the most outstanding examples of recent modern Southeast Asian art.
The paradox of the Singapore Art Museum’s latest contemporary exhibition displayed on the walls of the National Museum of Singapore.
One would normally expect to see such contemporary art displayed at the Singapore Art Museum across the road (the SAM’s impressive collection of over 7000 artworks is the world’s largest collection of modern Southeast Asian art), but due to renovation work the National Museum of Singapore offered to present this stand-out show. The juxtaposition between the ‘old’ (history museum collection upstairs) and the ‘new’ (contemporary art exhibition lurking below) couldn’t be more dramatic if it had been planned that way – and adds a surprising twist for visitors.
The Signature Art Prize is an eclectic buffet for the senses, with some of the most exciting modern artworks from the Asia Pacific region produced in the last 3 years. 113 artworks, from both emerging and established artists, from over 40 countries and territories were nominated for this triennial prize – and the judges whittled down the list to select these 15 finalists.
The artists show an incredible diversity of origins – from the farthest reaches of Central Asia, the finalists came from Kazakhstan, from India, right through to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, further east to Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and reaching out over the Pacific Rim, to include Australian and New Zealand artists.
A panel of jurors (which reads like a who’s who of international art experts) had the challenging job of selecting these 15 finalists – and whilst the actual winners will be announced on the 29th June, all the finalists’ entries can be viewed until 2 September, 2018.
Whilst the collective wisdom of the jurors will decide the actual winners (distributing $90 000 in prizes) there is a fabulous opportunity for the public to also have their say – through a People’s Choice Award (worth an additional SG$10 000). Visit and vote for your favourite work before 7pm, on 27 June. (I cast mine for Shubigi Rao’s extraordinary interactive exhibition “Pulp: A Short Biography of the Banished Book,” an intellectual and artistic interrogation on the destruction of books and libraries that left me weeping at some of the stories of book ‘massacres’.)
The walls of this exhibition are covered with the broadest interpretations of ‘art’ – paintings, videos and installations bringing to life stories and images most of which are unmistakably Asian, but totally individual. Many seem to explore broad themes of identity, politics, history and culture – but through such unique and expressive messaging, media and styles.
It’s a celebration of pure creativity and self expression – without borders or limits.
Alexandra Touchaud
www.AlexandraTouchaud.com