I was introduced to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre that recently opened in May this year just last week. Its opening exhibition Creativity in Pulses 新‧创艺, running till 30th September 2017, talks about what it means to identify as a Singaporean Chinese through the perspectives of a group of Singaporean artists in their twenties and thirties. I found it a refreshing idea to think about, especially after living in Hong Kong for a few years, where the question of Hong Kong identity has been prevalent these days.

The common idea that appears to run through the exhibition is the way tradition and modernity intermix in Singapore, so there’s quite a lot of references to traditional Chinese culture presented in new formats of installations and design. Personally, I also think that Singaporean identity carries a lot of Western influence, which I also picked up in some of the artworks on display, although I’m not sure if it was intentional on the part of the artists.

Sharing my favourite artworks from the exhibition, keep reading to see more!

| Cover picture: 《新‧山水》 by Edwin Low 刘志雄, Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre |

Flow 《川流不息》 by Ong Kian Peng 王建斌 (Supported by Modular Unit)

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Flow 《川流不息》 by Ong Kian Peng 王建斌 (Supported by Modular Unit)

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Flow makes use of a computerized system that operates an inkbrush to create a 山水画, a traditional Chinese landscape painting, of its own making.

Sadly, when I went to see it, the computer had hanged and wasn’t working. It would have been such a treat to see it in action! Oh, when technology fails.

Waiting for the Elevator《等待电梯》 by Sarah Choo Jing 朱婧

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Waiting for the Elevator is an expansive moving image that shows ordinary people at HDB void decks. The continuation of the image makes it appear as if it was taken in one single stretch, but it’s apparently taken from different spots and combined together!

I also wondered if the people were actors, but turns out they were actually people spending time at the void decks, with their actions now immortalized in this moving image to repeat infinitely.

Sink 《潮》 by Kirsten Tan 陈敬音

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

The first thing about Sink that struck me was that the said sink was located right in the middle of the sea. The film shows a boy who through the years grows up to be a young man, and then an old man, and constantly comes back to the sink again and again.

I really liked the feel of the film, and here I would like to quote the artwork description because I thought it summed it up really well:

With the knowledge we hold in our hands in this current day and age, how do we see our position in relation to the larger world? How do we open up narratives and reflect on our ethnic heritage? How should we relook ourselves and our environs while acknowledging those who have gone before us?

《新‧山水》 by Edwin Low 刘志雄

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

新‧山水, literally new shanshui painting, is again another contemporary remake of 山水画. Low’s version of it is comprised of Singapore’s landscape of HDB flats, trees, along with key landmarks like the Singapore Flyer and the Cloud Dome at Gardens by the Bay.

It’s shown alongside Low’s plates with designs that make me think of Ming dynasty blue and white porcelain!

Bambook – Negotiating Symbols Across Time and Place 《竹书 – 建筑装饰与符号》by Jesvin Yeo 杨佩华

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Bambook – Negotiating Symbols Across Time and Place makes use of bamboo scrolls that is pretty much unused these days, and in a bid to bring back this medium, Yeo illustrates the images and symbolisms of three Hokkien architectural style temples in Singapore in the Bambook.

I found it funny that the text is entirely in English, reversing the way these bamboo scrolls would have typically contained Chinese characters.

In The Space Between Categories 《分类·空间》by Clara Yee 余欣穎

In The Space Between Categories makes me think of having an identity that is between places, something that I can absolutely relate to myself. The overlapping of different patterns one in front of another form a whole that is at once difficult to decipher but also layered in understanding.

Journey 《旅程》 by Lee Xin Li 李欣立

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Lee traces the Journey of Singapore through pop culture, and I like the mix of Asian and Western influences! There’s Totoro next to a Mary Poppins in Chinese dress…

Wu Ngia Boh 《有影无》 by Vertical Submarine 垂直潜水艇

Image courtesy of Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre

Wu Ngia Boh, meaning “Is there a shadow?” in Hokkien, was a huge surprise for me! I thought there was a long mirror in the room but I couldn’t see myself reflected in it, only the room… Turns out it was a hole in the wall! Vertical Submarine had set up two separate rooms within the installation that directly “reflected” each other.

I also want to share the exhibition design of a Ming dynasty moon gate that I felt captured the essence of the exhibition so well. So pretty and fun!

Head down to the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre to see Creativity on Pulses before it ends on 30 September.

SCCC Gallery (Level 2)
Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, 1 Straits Boulevard
Exhibition hours: 10AM – 8PM daily
Free admission
Weekend tours: 2PM (English) and 2:30PM (Mandarin)

View more details at their website here.

Thank you SCCC for the invite!