HKPM is the Hong Kong ‘branch’ of the Palace Museum located in the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, China. So it already boasts a stunning display of artworks and artefacts in the galleries. This exhibition is, to me, extra special as HKPM collaborated with Château de Versailles to bring almost 150 artefacts together from both collections to explore how China and France mutually inspired and influence each other during the 17th and 18th centuries. Cross-cultural interactions between China and Europe, especially during the eighteenth century, is exactly the line of research that I’m getting more and more interested in these days!

Setting the Scene: The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles

The opening video piece, titled Symphony of Time and Space: The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles, immerses you in the architectural spaces of the Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles. I loved the shots where details from both palaces are juxtaposed against each other.

In the centre of the gallery is the display of the elaborate key used to open the main door of the Royal Chapel of Versailles. It’s shown alongside the Qing emperor’s seal and a jade book recording Qianlong Emperor’s Ten Great Campaigns.

Louis in Versailles

The first artwork we encounter in the exhibition is the famous portrait of Louis XIV — an excellent choice! The original Portrait of Louis XIV by Hyacinthe Rigaud was made in 1701, which now resides in the Musée du Louvre. The image of the Sun King was so popular that Rigaud made numerous copies, like this one shown here. I still remember my professor in my first-year art history class enthusiastically telling us that Louis XIV wanted to show off his regal legs… because he was known to be a great dancer! I was so excited to see this painting and I struck my best dancing pose, hahaha!

I was very taken by the fine rendering of Louis XV’s clothing and regalia in Drouais’ portrait. Another example of a beautiful portrait of a Louis.

The Qing Emperors

As the exhibition covers the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the artefacts on show cover a few generations of Louis’s and Qing emperors. In France, we begin with the Sun King Louis XIV (r. 1643–1715), his great-grandson Louis XV (r. 1715–1774), and finally Louis XV’s grandson Louis XVI (r. 1774–1792). Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were guillotined in 1793, but this exhibition doesn’t touch on the grisly revolution in France at the end of the eighteenth century.

In contrast, this period saw the ‘golden age’ of the Qing dynasty. The three most powerful emperors of their time: Kangxi Emperor 康熙帝 (r. 1662–1722), his son Yongzheng Emperor 雍正帝 (r. 1723–1735), and the Yongzheng Emperor’s son Qianlong Emperor 乾隆帝 (r. 1735–1796).

My favourite Chinese portrait was of the Yongzheng Emperor. In this hanging scroll Yongzheng Emperor holds a ruyi (如意). The ceremonial sceptre is so named to symbolise good fortune, but also acts as a means to display sovereignty. I also couldn’t help but notice his sharp, pointy nails…? Qianlong Emperor also grew long nails — as you can see below, alongside the exquisite details of his court attire. The dragon motifs, of course, represent the emperor.

Everyday Life

The next section of the exhibition focused on the everyday objects that populated both of the royal residences. Some objects were made in France and given to the Chinese court, and vice versa. Most of these objects in this section were scientific instruments, reflecting the scientific exchanges between China and France (particularly in Europe’s Age of Enlightenment) during this period.

The interest in science also meant the proliferation of these wonderful and strange-looking clocks in the Chinese courts! These are ‘musical automation clocks’ as elements of the clock, such as the green palm trees in the clock pictured above, would turn and rotate while music played. It’s like how wind-up music toys work, but in fancy, ornately decorated gold clocks that also tell the time.

Porcelain Trianon and Madame de Montespan

I loved learning about Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart, more commonly known as Madame de Montespan. A formidable woman known for her beauty and wit, she officially became Louis XIV’s mistress in 1674. Madame de Montespan ousted the preceding woman for the role before she was eventually ousted herself… This portrait depicts Madame de Montespan when she was around 23 years old, a few years before she worked her way into Louis XIV’s affections.

Louis XIV had the Porcelain Trianon (Trianon de Porcelaine) built near Versailles in 1670 for Madame de Montespan. What was special about the site was how it was decorated to resemble the blue-and-white porcelain that originated from China. The blue and white tiles used to decorate the pavilions of the residence were however made of faience (earthenware), as Europeans had yet to discover the ‘secret’ step in the process of creating porcelain. By 1687, the Trianon de Porcelaine was demolished. The building was simply too costly to maintain. At the same time, Madame de Montespan had fallen out of favour with Louis XIV.

Porcelain in France

In the 1760s, the good people of Sèvres Manufactory in France finally cracked the code in making porcelain: the incorporation of kaolin clay in the recipe. The French could now make porcelain vases of their own (instead of relying on Chinese imports). Although inspired by Chinese designs, the pair of vases pictured above still look very European to me with the style of the cartouche and the lion head handles.

It was common for gold mounts to be added to Chinese porcelain vases in French collections. The Ge porcelain is distinctive for its crackled glaze — so unique and beautiful. This perfume fountain belonged to Louis XV and was kept in his wardrobe!

Madame de Pompadour

From 1745 to 1751, Madame de Pompadour was the official mistress of Louis XV. After stepping down from her role, she became Louis XV’s confidante and political advisor, and continued to be highly influential in the French court. I remember learning so much about her portraits in French art history classes. She commissioned various portraits by leading French artists of the day, as a means to secure power in her public position.

Drouais’ Portrait of Madame Pompadour appears to be related to the larger-scale Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame, 1763–4, in the collection of the National Gallery, London. Madame de Pompadour is depicted in the same bonnet and dress with the striped ribbons and flower pattern. In Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame, Drouais expands the image to show Madame de Pompadour working at a tapestry in her salon at her apartment in Versailles.

Made in France

This exquisite Chrysanthemum pot was commissioned by imperial order in Beijing. Previously thought to have made in Guangdong, the pot was in actuality made in France and later shipped to Beijing. The enameller Joseph Coteau had convincingly painted flowers on the pot’s body in a ‘Chinese style’. On the bottom of the pot is Qianlong Emperor’s collection mark「乾隆年制」and — as recently discovered by the Palace Museum — Joseph Coteau’s signature ‘Couteau’ on the edge.

Similarly, this ewer with stylised lotus scroll was made in France and then sent to Beijing. It was a part of Qianlong Emperor’s collection, with his collection mark「乾隆年制」indicated on the bottom.

French and Chinese Aesthetics

This case of the lobed flower basket with peonies is a very interesting one! In 1775, Qianlong Emperor ordered replicas to be made of ten pieces of enamelware from the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods. Craftsmen in Guangdong and France were tasked to re-create the same flower basket, but there are slight differences. I prefer the more saturated blue colour of the French basket (pictured right), and the painting style of the flowers and leafs. On the other hand, I like the paler yellow on the exterior of the Guangdong basket. The Guangdong basket also appears more functional with the rectangular handle and the slight inward curve of the rim of the basket.

Portraits of Marie and Marie

Queen Marie Leszczyńska, wife of Louis XV, was a fan of Chinese culture and decor. She contributed to the making of the painting The Nanjing Market (below), reproduced from a Dutch illustration. The painting hung in the Chinese Chamber in Queen Marie’s private suite in the Palace of Versailles. Such scenes made by European travellers depicted everyday Chinese landscapes, but usually were error-prone or conjured imaginary pictures of China. The Nanjing Market pictures a row of shops with curved roofs and tall poles between them… It’s a strange and lively picture!

Marie Adélaïde was the daughter of Louis XV and Queen Marie. She is depicted in another gorgeous portrait by Nattier, where she holds a closed fan. The folding fan was a male accessory in China during this period. Interestingly, inspired by Chinese culture, the fan became a part of women’s fashion in the French court instead.

Crossing Cultures: China and France

A painted porcelain portrait! This portrait was based on the Jesuit Giuseppe Panzi’s original painting, who had served at the Qing imperial court. It’s a rare and fascinating depiction of a Chinese emperor through a European’s eyes and artistic style.

I enjoyed this interactive panel, which offered a contrasting view of Chinese and French portrait styles by comparing individual facial features between the Portrait of the Qianlong Emperor on porcelain plaque and other Chinese portraits.

During the Qianlong period of the Qing dynasty, it was popular to incorporate images of European figures on decorative objects (as seen above). In parallel, eighteenth-century French art and aesthetics also included various scenes of Chinese figures — in the craze for chinoiserie. Clearly, both cultures were fascinated by the other. I still find these images of Europeans by Chinese craftsmen and those of the Chinese by European craftsmen mutually strange, though!

Final Work: Voltaire

The exhibition concludes with a Portrait of Voltaire. A key figure of the French Enlightenment, the writer and philosopher held a high regard for China.

I’m not very familiar with Voltaire’s work, but I shall leave you reader with two of my favourite quotes from him:

Let us read, and let us dance—two amusements that will never do any harm to the world.

Dictionnaire philosophique (1764) ‘Liberty of the Press’

Doubt is not a pleasant condition. But certainty is an absurd one.

Letter to Frederick the Great, 28 November 1770

The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries ultimately focuses on the positive interactions between China and France during these years. Indeed, not everyone agreed with Voltaire in his admiration of China. That being said, I found it very refreshing to learn more about the sincere exchanges largely made between the two royal courts. The exhibition featured so many beautiful artworks, porcelain, and other decorative objects which was such a treat to see. I really hope to see more exhibitions featuring cross-cultural exchanges in the future!

The post The Forbidden City and Versailles | Hong Kong Palace Museum appeared first on Wording Art.

The exhibition of Impressions of Monet is such a treat, transporting us to Monet’s Giverny right within the grounds of Gardens by the Bay! When I first learnt about Claude Monet (only in uni), I instantly loved his impressionistic artworks. He remains one of my favourite artists, and I count myself very lucky to have viewed his works across Hong Kong, Singapore and London! Visiting Giverny one day remains on my travel list, but it’s so cool that I get to see a replica of Monet’s house and gardens in Giverny right here in Singapore! I also think this might be my favourite exhibition in Singapore in 2024 so far.

Impressions of Monet: The Garden (Part I)

Around the age of 43, Monet and his family moved to Giverny, settling in a house and accompanying gardens from 1883 till his death in 1926. Over the years, Monet transformed his property into what we know and love today. The paint colours of his home (a gorgeous baby pink and dark green combination) were meant to emulate houses on the French Riviera, and his gardens became known for the water lily ponds which inspired his painting series of the subject made in his later years.

Gardens by the Bay in Singapore has rotating flower displays every year (sakura or cherry blossoms, tulips, and roses are the key highlights). I loved that they did something new this time around by centring the floral display on Monet’s gardens in Giverny.

The exhibition Impressions of Monet consists of two parts: Impressions of Monet: The Garden and Impressions of Monet: The Experience. There is much to see here!

I loved seeing the flowers in this show, which are different from the usual lineup at Gardens by the Bay. Closely aligned to the theme, the flowers included here were also the ones that Monet planted in his original gardens.

Painting En Plein Air

Monet was one of the French painters who made up the art movement of Impressionism. Monet was especially known for his obsession in chasing after light effects in nature. This involved taking his easel, canvas, paintbrushes, palette, and painting toolbox out and about to paint outdoors. Or in French, to paint en plein air. This also meant to paint quickly, resulting in the kind of short, rapid brushstrokes that define Impressionist paintings.

Here, a bronze sculpture of Monet shows him painting within the gardens! I also loved that he’s seen in the act of painting Monet’s Garden at Giverny (1895). Fitting choice!

Inside Monet’s House

There are other interactive elements among the garden, like stepping inside Monet’s house and seeing the interiors!

Monet took inspiration from Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints from the Edo period, and some reproductions are included within the house too. To see more, check out my post on Life in Edo!

A spectacular setup of Monet’s Giverny maison et jardins is the highlight of Impressions of Monet: The Garden!

Flowers and Paintings

You may have noticed that most of the ‘artworks’ included within Impressions of Monet: The Garden were actually repainted copies. (Possibly due to copyright restrictions?) Monet has such a wide oeurve, and I loved having the chance to learn about some of his works that I didn’t know of before! The exhibition didn’t provide any ‘captions’, so I had to find out what these artworks are for myself!

Woman with a Parasol is one of my absolute favourites by Monet, and it’s nicely included here!

I especially loved seeing these sunflower-looking flowers — they remind me of my convocation earlier in July! Plus, they look a lot like the flowers in The Artist’s Garden at Vétheuil above! The last ‘artwork’ nestled among these yellow flowers is a repainted copy of Meadow with Poplars, about 1875, in the collection of MFA Boston. A repainted copy of a very similar composition, Poppy Fields near Argenteuil (1875) at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, also appears among an earlier section of these yellow flowers (see photo at the beginning of this post).

Water Lilies in Monet’s Giverny

It took me time to understand my water lilies. I had planted them for the pleasure of it; I grew them without ever thinking of painting them. – Claude Monet

It was wonderful to see a few water lily ponds (bassin aux nymphéas) throughout the exhibition. It was also the water lilies’ debut at Gardens by the Bay, appearing in a floral display for the first time! We also got to see Monet’s Japanese-inspired green bridges (usually painted in red in Japanese culture), like the ones that he built in Giverny.

Impressions of Monet: The Experience (Part II)

I thought Impressions of Monet: The Garden was wonderful on its own, but there’s even more to see with Impressions of Monet: The Experience! The second part is like what you might expect from an immersive experience: it begins with various information panels on the artists of the Impressionist movement, includes a few reproductions of Monet’s paintings, and has many photo spots and digital elements!

I thought this rather abstract version of Monet’s Nymphéas was fascinating! I’ve never seen anything like it before — it’s in a private collection.

Monet: The Immersive Experience

The major highlight is the immersive experience itself! Produced by Grande Experiences (Australia), the digital experience shows the progression of the Impressionist movement, set to a classical music soundtrack. There was also a fragrance element, with a specially developed scent diffused through the gallery — but to be honest, I didn’t catch it!

My favourite part might be the opening section where the dramatic music shows some of the artistic styles and artworks that preceded the Impressionism movement. For example, I spy Jacques-Louis David (neoclassicism), Eugène Delacroix (romanticism), and Gustave Courbet (realism). Then bam! The music rises to indicate the Impressionists arriving on the scene.

One of my other absolute favourites of Monet’s is his Houses of Parliament series (1899–1904) made in London. I was so happy to see a 1904 version in Hong Kong back in 2016! Monet’s Houses of Parliament painting series is also going to be a subject of the exhibition Monet and London. Views of the Thames at The Courtauld Gallery in London opening soon this month — really wished I could be there!

I liked that the immersive experience also included artworks by the other Impressionist artists! I just wished that the artwork titles were included within the immersive experience too. Above is an expanded view of Paul Cézanne’s The Montagne Sainte-Victoire with a Large Pine (around 1887) at The Courtauld.

An expanded view of Monet’s La Pie (The Magpie) (1868-69) which was last in Singapore at National Gallery Singapore in 2017!

Gift Shop

The final touch of Impressions of Monet: The Experience is, of course, the gift shop! I ended up going home with a high-quality mug with a design of Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son (1875) and Woman with a Parasol, Facing Left (1886) photoshopped together.

Overall, I thought Impressions of Monet was excellently done, and I had the best time exploring Monet’s iconic house in Giverny — but in Gardens by the Bay in Singapore! I really think Gardens by the Bay has outdone themselves. Impressions of Monet: The Garden at Gardens by the Bay, with a touch of Giverny, is showing until 17th September 2024. Impressions of Monet: The Experience is showing until 18th February 2025.

Next up in Singapore, I’m looking forward to the immersive experience of Monet Inside (from Seoul, Korea) opening in October. Would the immersive experience be even more epic? Well, I’ll take any reason to see more Monet — whether physically or digitally!

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| Cover Picture: Robert Indiana, LOVE Blue Faces Red Sides, 1966–1999, polychrome aluminium |

ART SG

We have waited so many years (since 2018 at least?) to finally see the ART SG art fair come to fruition in Singapore! It certainly shares similar vibes to Art Basel in Hong Kong. In its inaugural edition in 2023, ART SG delivered art by the familiar well-loved artists, as well as the strange and kind of wacky!

Why though…?? I don’t know the title of this artwork, but it’s a play on the classical sculpture Laocoön and His Sons in the Vatican Museums…

Enjoyed seeing artworks from Ben Brown Fine Arts again — my usual art fair favourites are Vik Muniz’s collages of famous masterpieces and Gavin Turk’s humorous bronzes! Giraffe refers to the taped banana artwork fiasco that was Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (which was originally shown at Art Basel in Miami Beach in 2019).

Around the World in 80 Days

The exhibition ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ at Alliance Française de Singapour offered something different! Based on the titular novel by Jules Verne, the exhibition was centred around French innovations in transport and travel on land, sea, air, and even in space.

My favourite part of the exhibition was being able to touch and handle these early editions of the novels which are held in private collections. It’s very nerdy of me, but I love having the chance to touch artefacts from centuries past!

Library of Unread Books

The artwork installation The Library of Unread Books by Heman Chong and Renée Staal was so interesting to discover! As what the name suggests, it’s a library and room filled with unread books donated by the public. My sister and I were so fascinated by the concept that we each donated an unread book of our own! It was also great to skim, glance and read all of the different books on display. This artwork was on show in Singapore earlier this year, and travels regularly — currently it’s in Seoul!

Peranakan Museum

The Peranakan Museum finally reopened after a few years of revamp, and it was nice to see the updated gallery displays. This gorgeous table cover is finally on display in the museum, and it sparkles so delicately with actual glass beads inlaid in the cloth.

National Museum of Singapore

NMS – A Voyage of Love and Longing

I enjoyed seeing this small exhibition ‘A Voyage of Love and Longing’ at the National Museum of Singapore. This exhibition weaves stories and poetry about love and longing from the Malay world, alongside drawings of birds, plants, and flowers contained in the museum’s William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings. It provides a new kind of perspective which I thought was very nicely done!

NMS – Now Boarding

I highly recommend checking out ‘Now Boarding: Experiencing Singapore through Travel, 1800s – 2000s’ at the National Museum of Singapore! It’s currently on show till 25 February 2024. I spent so long looking at all the details of the exhibits, and loved seeing an older side of Singapore through the years.

If you can, also take a dance in the NMS Disco with a friend! You can choose from beginner to advanced level difficulty and dance along to some old grooves! A video recording of your dance will be made available to one of the participants (via an app or link or something). It really made me laugh to see my friend and I dancing in somewhat embarrassing fun!

Immersive Disney Animation

2023 was also the year of Disney100, and I embraced that fully!! I watched 3 Disney movies, got a tote, went to Hong Kong Disneyland, watched the Frozen musical… and also visited the ‘Immersive Disney Animation’ exhibition! It is currently showing until 25 February 2024.

The highlight is the one-hour long immersive video experience showing clips from various Disney cartoons and animations. There are only some couches in the middle, so almost everyone sits on the floor out of consideration to allow everyone to watch the screens!

I loved watching my old and new favourite Disney classics in the immersive experience, but I was quite peeved to miss most of the exhibition area before going into the immersive experience. The time slots are tight (and last for 90 minutes only), so the staff were calling everyone to go into the immersive viewing area early. We thought we could return to the exhibition area but weren’t allowed to — so do spend enough time to check out the exhibits before running in!!

Gardens by the Bay

Tulipmania: Origins of the Tulip

I spent more time visiting Gardens by the Bay this year, and I decided to include these pictures specially because I enjoyed seeing these beautiful flowers so much! I finally visited my first-ever Tulipmania, as I thought it was so unique that Gardens by the Bay went for a Türkiye theme this year! Loved seeing the exhibits nestled among the tulips as well.

Orchids of Machu Picchu (and Avatar: The Experience)

I finally revisited Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay after many years, and managed to catch both Avatar: The Experience and ‘Orchids of Machu Picchu’!

‘Orchids of Machu Picchu’ is still ongoing. The flower exhibition includes some very beautiful orchids, along with Peruvian artefacts like these replicas of receptacles (shown above). I’m loving the educational bent that Gardens by the Bay is taking with their recent events with Orchids of Machu Picchu and with Tulipmania this year.

Only after revisiting Cloud Forest now did I realise Gardens by the Bay kept one of the best Dale Chihuly glass sculptures in their conservatories! In 2021, Gardens by the Bay held a Dale Chihuly exhibition, see here for the post!

That’s a wrap! In 2023 I also visited Hong Kong’s new and revamped museums, which I’m also looking forward to sharing more about on Wording Art! At this moment, I’m just happy to have seen all these art, exhibitions, and immersive experiences — including the excellent Van Gogh Immersive Experience — right here in Singapore. :)

The post Art of 2023 appeared first on Wording Art.

The Singapore edition of Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience had its run from March to October 2023, while the London edition has been running for over a year! I loved the location in Singapore at The Forum in Resorts World Sentosa, it was big and spacious. The London edition was at an industrial-style building in Spitalfields, and so I took the time to explore the area a bit too!

Get to Know Van Gogh

I love that the experience starts off with a collection of Van Gogh’s self-portraits, enlarged in equal size on these black banners. Van Gogh’s famous self-portraits in public museums were featured alongside some in private collections, which I thought were a nice inclusion!

The next section is all about getting to know more about Van Gogh. There’s a good mix of digital elements, replicas of Van Gogh’s paintings (no real works on site!), and wall panels sharing more information about his life and work. An exhibit of a life-size white vase is part of a digital projection that features the different flower paintings that Van Gogh made, which was pretty fun!

This was a fun real-life set-up of Van Gogh’s painting Bedroom in Arles. As the wall panel explains, Van Gogh made three versions of his bedroom in the famed ‘Yellow House’. Van Gogh had painted the first / original Bedroom in Arles in October 1888, now in the collection of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam. The two latter versions were made the following year in 1889, and are now in the Art Institute of Chicago and the Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Looking at the set-up in the London immersive experience (pictured above), I think they were imitating the second version of Bedroom in Arles in the Art Institute of Chicago, with the similar colours and portraits on the wall! But this area was barred off, so unfortunately I couldn’t take a photo inside. The Singapore edition made the Bedroom a photo spot though!

The Immersive Experience

The star of the show is really the immersive experience itself, with so many of Van Gogh’s paintings brought to life and animated across the entire room. I liked how each painting was accompanied by its title and year of its making, if you care for the details like I do! There are also some quotes from Van Gogh’s letters, set along to a somewhat dramatic soundtrack.

I loved that the immersive experience included images of Tree Roots, which was the last painting that Van Gogh made. I remember following the art news (during the circuit breaker in May 2020!) that the location of these Tree Roots was newly discovered in Auvers-sur-Oise, France through a postcard photograph! As it was, Van Gogh lived in Auvers-sur-Oise back in 1890, and brought his colourful vision to the tree roots, which still look largely the same even today.

The immersive experience is about twenty minutes long, which is so worth the value! I beelined straight for the deck chairs because I loved lying back and staring up at the art on the screens, and it’s such a novel way of looking at art!! Although on second thought, I should have also tried parking myself on the sofas in the Singapore experience, as all of the furniture was sponsored by Castlery!

Because the immersive experience room in Singapore was so spacious and comfortable, I must say that I enjoyed it much more than the London edition, which had a smaller room. The room was very packed and so it was also difficult to get clear pictures!

Japonisme Room in Singapore

It felt extra special that the Singapore edition also included a japonisme room! This was not available in London, and I wonder if the other stops in Asia also have this. Van Gogh famously drew inspiration from Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, like those by Hiroshige in particular. This japonisme room highlighted works from Chinese and Japanese art, as well as works by Van Gogh’s contemporaries, such as Gustav Klimt. The tea brand Matchaya also provided free samples of green tea, which I thought was such a nice touch!

Paint with Vincent

At the end, you can colour your own version of Van Gogh’s masterpieces, display it on the wall, and even project it digitally!

Sunflower Room

One more photo spot in the Sunflower Room in the Singapore edition before leaving!

Cafe and Merchandise Shop

I loved how the cafe and shop (in Singapore) was so well decked out and on-theme!

Some final thoughts: I really enjoyed seeing Van Gogh’s art in this new, immersive experience! I’ve heard some critique that this might not be a ‘purist’ way of looking at art, and at times the animated artworks in the immersive experience also took on ‘creative license’. But I’m of the view that it’s fun, engaging, and brings awareness to more of Van Gogh’s artworks — whether for old favourites or other less familiar ones.

Another note is the surprising difference in price: In Singapore an adult ticket cost SGD$24, while in London an adult ticket cost £19.90 (not inclusive of booking fees via the Fever app), which is quite a steep difference!

In any case, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience was fun enough to go twice! It’s exciting to see the experience continue its world tour, check out their website to see if it’s coming to your city!

The post Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience | Singapore & London appeared first on Wording Art.

| Cover picture: Hiromi Tango, Dr Emma Burrows and Dr Tilman Dingler, Wheel, 2021, at ArtScience Museum’s MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing |

Asian Civilisations Museum – Russel Wong in Kyoto

Russel Wong in Kyoto was first shown alongside Life in Edo in 2021, and then it was extended into 2022! Additional photographs by Wong were added, keeping the focus on an inside look of geikos in Kyoto, but I also really liked the atmosphere of showing Kyoto in flowering season.

National Gallery Singapore – Chua Mia Tee: Directing the Real

I was able to visit this exhibition twice because it went on for about a year — early on in January and one more time on its last day! This is a solo exhibition dedicated to Singaporean artist Chua Mia Tee, and I enjoyed seeing his views of Singapore back in the old days…

Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall (shown on right of painting) is missing its crown at the top of its dome! I found this missing detail so funny, because I only learned a while back too about the building’s crown! Also my favourite work of architecture in Singapore.

Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre – Life is Sweet: Ang Ku Kueh Girl Exhibition

Found this a sweet exhibition and I loved these uplifting messages along with these cute Ang Ku Kueh Girl illustrations!

Han Sai Por’s Microorganisms Landscape

The use of the Jendela art space at the Esplanade for Han Sai Por’s mixed-media Microorganisms Landscape was pretty good! I also liked seeing a different side to Han’s work, who is well-known for her sculptures which are easily found across Singapore.

Hong Kong: Through the Looking Glass miniature exhibition《細看香港》

Take me back to Hong Kong!!! Here’s to me doing that in 2023!!! In the meantime, I loved seeing these miniatures of everyday Hong Kong scenes — and there were so many other people viewing this exhibition too!

200 TRUNKS, 200 VISIONARIES: THE EXHIBITION

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Louis Vuitton’s birth, LV launched this exhibition that invited 200 artists, creatives, and some celebrities to reinterpret the classic LV trunk. Singapore was the second stop for this travelling exhibition, which is really cool! Loved the ideas and creativity that was abounding here.

National Museum of Singapore – OFF / ON: Everyday Technology that Changed our Lives, 1970s – 2000s

More throwbacks to an older Singapore, I really liked these room set-ups like the barber salon and the photographer’s studio!

i Light Singapore

i Light finally returned after its last showing in 2019! It was really nice walking around the Marina Bay area again at night to see all the lights.

My favourite from i Light this year was Firefly Field! They are electronically controlled but appear to sway naturally in the wind.

Botanic Gardens Gallop Extension

I finally visited the new(-ish) Gallop Extension at Botanic Gardens, and I definitely want to visit again! There are two black and white houses named Inverturret and Atbara, and you can explore their interiors, learn more about the colonial era architecture, and see exhibitions and highlights from the Singapore Botanic Gardens collection.

Asian Civilisations Museum – Batik Kita: Dressing in Port Cities

Popped by ACM again to see the exhibition Batik Kita, that featured batik in textiles in both its traditional and contemporary forms.

Malay Heritage Centre – Cerita

I visited the Malay Heritage Centre before it closed for renovation, and its last exhibition was Cerita (Stories). The highlight piece for me was this stunning painting by Raden Saleh!

Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum

Finally visited the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum for the first time ever — after so long! It’s situated within the campus of National University of Singapore, and the museum exhibits are set across two stories. I thought it was really well done; it’s cool to see Singapore’s very own dinosaur exhibits, and I was also particularly taken by the molluscs section!

National Gallery Singapore – Wu Guanzhong: Travelling with the Master

I still think that the best Wu Guanzhong exhibition at National Gallery Singapore was Wu Guanzhong: Beauty Beyond Form in 2016. The latest showing Wu Guanzhong: Travelling with the Master was a little cobbled together, but it was still nice to see some really great works by Wu.

National Gallery Singapore – Nothing is Forever: Rethinking Sculpture in Singapore

Running from 29 July 2022 to 5 February 2023

Haha, I couldn’t help myself! It doesn’t matter when one doesn’t ‘get’ the art, just pose with it and have fun…!

House of Dreams

I loved this display of Barbie dolls at House of Dreams hosted at the Ion Orchard art gallery space, it was so pink, bright and fabulous! Loved the vintage looks to the contemporary ones, with my favourites below!

Asian Civilisations Museum – ACM and Anima Mundi: Chinese Christian art from the Vatican Museums 

Currently showing

This exhibition of loans from the Anima Mundi (Soul of the World), Vatican Museums at ACM featuring Chinese Christian art seems to be getting little traction, but it’s a really nice display of works incorporated within ACM’s Christian art gallery! The works of Chinese Christian art makes for both a strange and interesting combination that I’ve never really encountered before.

ArtScience Museum – MENTAL: Colours of Wellbeing 

Running from 3 September 2022 – 26 February 2023

I thought that MENTAL was both fun and a little quirky! The exhibition’s take on mental health and wellbeing was not exactly what I was expecting (I thought I should come out of it feeling nice and cosy or something like that??), but there was a good variety of responses and artworks that related to the theme.

Even in Fear by Zhou definitely made me feel a little more anxious than I should have! The white balloon in the bright pink container keeps expanding and filling up the space until it looks like it’s going to explode — and then it deflates, and the cycle repeats again.

I thought this work Hello Human, Hello Machine was really fun because you could pick up the payphone and it connects you to someone and start a conversation! But, spoiler alert, I am convinced that the person on the line is pre-recorded……

In Mirror Ritual, you look into the mirror and the AI machine presents you with a poem based on the emotions on your face. I gave it my best neutral expression and this is what I got, which cracked me up!!

I thought this was the perfect note to end this post with. Thank you 2022, you’ve been a ride — and of course, one of my ultimate highlights of the year was visiting London, and I should do another highlight post of that! I hope the new year 2023 treats you well, and that you be kind on yourself too! Let’s see what it will bring…

The post Art of 2022 appeared first on Wording Art.

National Gallery Singapore

The art of 2021 began with National Gallery Singapore’s Light to Night festival, which is always pretty fun with their art installations! Just went to see some at 2022’s edition too.

Something New Must Turn Up: Six Singaporean Artists After 1965

I’ve seen Eng Tow’s Grains of Thought twice at Asian Civilisations Museum and now at its spot at Jewel Changi, and I found it fun to see these maquettes / models for the actual artwork in the exhibition Eng Tow – the sixth sense (part of Something New Must Turn Up), which were a lot smaller!

My favourite exhibition in Something New Must Turn Up was Jaafar Latiff: In the Time of Textile — really liked seeing these colourful, Futurist-looking, abstract pieces.

Antony Gormley – on view 6 August 2021 – 30 October 2022

My first encounter with Antony Gormley’s human figures was back in 2016, when ‘Event Horizon’ Hong Kong placed several of these standing men at the top of buildings and in the middle of the streets in Central — and I had fun posing with one of them! And this one has now fallen face-flat on the Gallery’s beautiful floors…

Kind of weird / funny to see this steel mass in the middle of such colonial architecture! A bit out of place or an interesting contrast?

Horizon Field Singapore on the rooftop of National Gallery Singapore looks fantastic (and different from so many angles), and it’s great to take photos with!

Nam June Paik: The Future is Now – 10 December 2021 – 27 March 2022

Nam June Paik is such a big name and an important artist, so I definitely had to check out this exhibition! It’s a travelling exhibition, and it’s making its last stop at National Gallery Singapore. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of his work, but it’s a good exhibition to see nonetheless.

Also be sure not to miss these three works located in the basement of the Gallery — Sistine Chapel is probably the most seminal work of Paik’s.

Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century

I’ve wandered through Siapa Nama Kamu? [What’s Your Name?] quite a number of times, and it’s always nice to see some refreshed works in this permanent exhibition. I just saw Wu Peng Seng’s photographs, and I really liked the ones with the ballerina: The Long Shadow and First Step.

Between Declarations and Dreams: Art of Southeast Asia since the 19th Century

Siapa Nama Kamu? is much smaller than Between Declarations and Dreams (3 galleries in the former and 14 galleries in the latter), and I only realised last year that I haven’t actually seen the whole of Between Declarations and Dreams properly before. So I took the afternoon to track down all the galleries and had a look at everything.

My favourites are still the works of Raden Saleh — Boschbrand is stunning, but I wish there was more explanation of the work. While we see these animals driven to the edge of the cliff due to a forest fire, I’m inclined to think that there is a deeper, or symbolic meaning to this image. In any case, here’s to a roaring Year of the Tiger…!

Gorgeous pieces giving me Turner-esque vibes.

National Museum of Singapore

Modern Colony: 1925–1935

I’m not sure how or why, but I can’t believe I’ve not seen these galleries in National Museum of Singapore on the second floor?! They trace the modern history of Singapore, and I really liked this one on the ‘Modern Colony’. It’s the Twenties vibes for me!

PSM50: Celebrating the Golden Jubilee of Singapore’s Preservation Journey

I stumbled across this exhibition presented by the Preservation of Sites and Monuments division of the National Heritage Board (to mark 50 years of preservation in Singapore), and there were these small artefacts and models of the 73 National Monuments of Singapore!

This cube was exhibited on a turning display, and the top has an image of a war memorial. Unfortunately, I forgot to record what this piece is about and what monument it’s displaying, but I took these photos of it as I was taken by what it says of the ‘Folly of War’.

Singapore History Gallery

This amazing portrait by John Singer Sargent is in the basement gallery of the National Museum of Singapore — the Singapore History Gallery — and I’m sure I’d seen it before years ago but didn’t know of Sargent at the time. I was part of a British Art class in the last semester, and my professor mentioned that there was a Sargent in the National Museum, so I had to track it down!! It’s huge, lush and the paintwork is gorgeous.

The Sargent painting is situated between two other portraits painted by John Edgar Williams (left) and William Orpen (right), but those are just not as impressive.

Kranji War Cemetery

As part of that aforementioned British Art class, we did a field trip to the Kranji War Cemetery, also known as the Kranji War Memorial. It’s part of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) that maintains cemeteries across the world, remembering the “men and women of the Commonwealth Forces who died in the First and Second World Wars”.

It was my first time at the Kranji War Cemetery, and it might seem a bit surprising that it is so beautifully maintained. I posted about this on my IG earlier, and my mixed feelings still remain the same. Seeing these individuals’ names and their families’ messages for them is both sad and humbling in a way.

Out and About

A cute display at Funan Mall of Lego displays of Singaporean / hawker food that I spotted back in May!

Another random, gorgeous Lego display of the Fullerton Hotel located at One Fullerton opposite that I saw in November!

I always like to glimpse at the window displays of fashion houses as sometimes, there are some really well-done and interesting displays! Hermès at Liat Towers frequently has these fun, quirky or just aesthetic window displays.

Burberry’s Olympia bag installation

This was just fun and random! The Burberry’s Olympia bag installation made its third appearance in Singapore’s Ion Orchard after floating down London’s River Thames (stunning!) and appearing in Dubai too.

KAWS:HOLIDAY

KAWS is just so popular now, and no matter what you think of the art or of the character, I think it’s good time to embrace it! Was quite surprised to see the crowds lining up to see KAWS:HOLIDAY at the Floating Platform, and I still like to keep my social distancing, so I zoomed in on the KAWS balloon (?) installation from afar on the Helix Bridge!

A good reminder to look up — some of Singapore’s architecture have these stunning ceilings that you might not notice on the daily, but it’s nice to take a moment to look up every once in a while.

Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Speaking of ceilings, the Marina Bay Sands Hotel has this absolutely stunning Gormley installation scattered across the ceiling right at the front entrance of Tower 1. The picture does not do it justice! Fun fact: the work is suspended across levels 5 and 12 of the atrium of Hotel Tower 1.

Seeing Dale Chihuly‘s The Setting Sun and The Moon in the Gardens by the Bay from high up on Marina Bay Sands Hotel’s rooftop!

Panoramic view from the window of the MBS Hotel room we were staying in — so, so incredible.

Breakfast in style — this staycation at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel was The Highlight of 2021, and I felt very lucky and blessed to be a plus one to my sister of City Girl, City Stories who was invited to view the exhibition Orchestral Manoeuvres at ArtScience Museum, which was also amazing!

Basically the Marina Bay Sands Hotel is a work of art, and they also have a lot of artworks displayed across its premises, which I’ll love to post about at a later time! Till then, best wishes for 2022 / the Year of the Tiger and let’s go forth and embrace where life takes us!

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I like to say that in my ‘previous life’, i.e. before I discovered art history, I used to play music, picking up varying instruments at different times in life with the piano, saxophone (school band days) and guitar. I don’t think I ever did get accustomed to the discipline that regular musical practice requires, or learned how to play music ‘for fun’ or for myself — but I would say that music and songs are still very present in my everyday!

So I was also pretty heartened to hear during the exhibition tour preview of the curator Adrian George’s own personal attachment to the themes of Orchestral Manoeuvres revolving around music and sound. This exhibition is curated by the ArtScience Museum to mark its 10th year anniversary (already!), and I loved hearing the stories behind each work and seeing the care and effort that was taken in putting this exhibition together.

I was a little hesitant to see an entire exhibition on sound, particularly in contemporary art — because I thought it might not be for me, too avant-garde perhaps?? — but this was really excellent! It’s a quiet, as in understated, exploration of sound and music in art without being overbearing or overly pretentious. It actually feels like a calming exhibition interspersed with works that produce sounds or music (it’s a sound exhibition, after all!), and other artworks that describe the music instead.

I like how the didactic for this work calls Rage Fluids a “self-portrait in sculpture and sound”. The noise that plays in this installation makes the foil in these curved panels vibrate, and it’s meant to be a reference to the artist Perry’s childhood and car culture.

This is a series of photographs showing the effects of sound, set at different frequencies (that determine pitch), and how they create different vibrations or patterns on the surface of milk! I’ve never been good at physics and so don’t really understand this, but apparently low-frequency sounds, i.e. low-pitch sounds, cause the most impact on milk and create the most elaborate patterns!

These two Resonance in Frames works are in fact moving artworks, because the mechanisms (probably the microcontrollers) periodically tap against the copper pipes to create sound. It’s like the machinery is making music on its own!

This installation is a series of six works that have been so well-placed together. The top two hanging in the air Forest-Sounds – Bird NO.3 and Insects Chirping – Chinese Medicine Box move up and down, while the tree branches of Bird Song flap up and down! There’s also chirping sounds emanating from this corner, that seems to sound more like bird chirping (preferred!) than insect chirping.

I keep seeing the promo posters for the exhibition showing Chair of Concentration and declaring this as “Not your Usual Headphones”, haha! The objects in this definitely give it a traditional Chinese feel, but counters usual expectations of what you’ll see.

I really liked this one! Kim writes a sort of musical score for the sounds of different activities, expressing it in terms of volume (meaning loudness) and frequency (meaning rate of occurrence). I keep feeling like I have to clarify my word usage, in case I make a pun or when words could be understood differently in terms of sound!

For a bit of background on musical notation, specifically dynamics (i.e. loudness in music), p stands for piano meaning ‘quiet’, pp stands for pianissimo meaning ‘very quiet’, f stands for forte meaning loud, and ff stands for fortissimo meaning very loud. Kim uses these dynamics in her works to illustrate her sounds — and another interesting note (excuse the pun) is that Kim was born deaf, and she combines such musical notations with American Sign Language in these works.

Don’t these three works just so well express the tune of COVID-19 lockdowns……

I like how Khan takes inspiration from Bach, Beethoven and Mozart, and re-interprets their musical scores by overlapping the pages on top of each other to create these blotted prints.

I first saw Ang’s works in the restaged (is this a pun??) exhibition of Music For Everyone: Variations on a Theme last year at National Museum of Singapore, that was first shown at the Venice Biennale in 2019. I like how Ang’s patterned versions of Western-style five-line staves in musical notation are included here in Orchestral Manoeuvres too!

I was quite fascinated by this, as I mostly know Luigi Russolo for his Futurist paintings, but not for his music. I’ve also been fascinated with the Futurists since learning about them, because I find them so bold and nuts enough to hold on to their ambitions to envision the future of a modern city (when the movement formed in 1909), though keeping things purely on an artistic level and not actually acting on their radical ideals.

Anyway, most of Russolo’s musical compositions were destroyed during the Second World War, but music archeologists (this is a great term) have rediscovered the first seven bars of Il risveglio di una città (The Awakening of a City), as seen here!

Below the Russolo, there’s a display case showcasing some of John Cage’s compositions or musical instructions. And of course, there needs to be the inclusion of Cage’s seminal 4’33” of silence… and I love how there are ‘notes’ for this composition (such a pun).

This is a really interesting gathering of early scores from centuries past, and from cultures independent of the Western musical canon!

So I learned that a pianola is a self-playing piano, and this pianola can be turned on by pressing a giant red button at the back of it! 4’33” (Prepared Pianola for Roger Bannister) also references Cage’s 4’33”, but the duration here is in fact a reference to the British athletics sportsman Roger Bannister, who set a British record at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki for the 1500m Men’s Final. There are a few accompanying posters (seen above in the cover picture) as part of this work, but I think the pianola — especially when it starts playing really loudly — steals the show!

I really like these pieces by Yoko Ono, which are so whimsical, introspective and playful at the same time.

I really like this one of Gillian Wearing dancing in a South London shopping mall — but there’s no music playing. Instead, she’s dancing to songs playing in her head. That whole music playing in my memory totally happens with me too, and then I’ll have to actually play the actual song! Also, I like how this video piece was presented on an old-school small SONY TV.

This is probably the most popular or significant work in the entire exhibition, which I think resonated with many people too. I just took a photo of the forty speakers, but ultimately the work is really about the forty-track recording of the choir singing A reworking of “Spem in Alium”. Each speaker plays a recording of each of the choir members singing their part, and you can choose to listen to each individually, or just take it all in right in the centre. I’ve heard that many people felt moved by the experience, but for me, I would say that it felt pretty epic, like I was right in the middle of a choir, listening to their singing amplified.

This interactive space was pretty fun! You can step on a pedal, and that will make these various ‘installations’ of household objects to start moving around in a circle, and the objects jangle and clink against each other to make music!

This video was taken in Stuttgart, Germany, where the artist Nevin Aladağ spent her childhood. It’s a compilation of actual musical instruments being placed or moved around different parts of the city, and how they can be ‘played by the city’!

I thought this shot of a balloon attached to a cornet (I think??) just screamed aesthetic!

This final work of the exhibition pays tribute to Drei Klavierstücke (“Three Piano Pieces”), Op. 11, that was written by the Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg in 1909, but it’s also a tribute to the roles that cats play in our lives… It’s a compilation of various clips taken from YouTube videos featuring cats stepping on pianos, but all the notes culminate to perform the Op 11 piece! It’s both fun and random, and I also appreciate the love for cat videos (also so present in my life)!!

I also love the giant reproduction of the score on the wall next to the video screen, which are in fact the first few bars of Arnold Schoenberg’s Op. 11.

I would highly recommend a visit to this exhibition, which is different from the usual fare, but also so creative and thoughtful at the same time! It’s still showing for the first two days of the new year until 2 January 2022. Find out more at their exhibition link here.

I’m so glad I caught this exhibition, and it’s amazing to think that ArtScience Museum has already been around for 10 years in Singapore! ArtScience Museum still remains one of my favourite places to go to in Singapore, and it’s exciting to see what they will present next!

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| Cover picture: Lucy Liu, Velocity (one side), 2001, mixed media on canvas |

National Museum of Singapore – Unhomed Belongings

2019 began with Unhomed Belongings at NMS, which did an interesting pairing of Lucy Liu’s and Shubigi Rao’s artworks. I especially liked Liu’s Lost and Found books, which contains objects that she picks up from the streets in whichever place she travels to. Rao’s highlight work for me was The Wood for the Trees that is part of her wider project on documenting destroyed books and libraries.

I love books and art, so I always like artworks that incorporate books in some way or another…

I next visited the i Light and Light to Night festivals centred around the 2019 Bicentennial and the new S.E.A. Focus art fair, which I had shared about in the two linked posts, click over to read more!

Science Centre Singapore – The Inventions of Ancient Greece

The last time I went to the Science Centre, I was there for a class trip, and I think it has been 11 years?? (Where does the time go?) I have a long-standing thing for ancient Greek stories and things, so I was intrigued when I saw banners advertising this exhibition around the city.

The exhibition featured replicas of Greek inventions that were made for both practical and aesthetic / for fun purposes, and it’s amazing to see how these inventions rely solely on physics, rather than the technology we see today. I really liked the hydraulic automaton of the “chirping birds” and of the “returning owl”. Depending on the water level in the container, the birds will chirp, only stopping when the owl turns towards them; when the water level lowers again, the owl turns away and the birds chirp again (as shown in the picture). The second exhibit above is a “robot” that automatically refills wine cups – how cool is that?

The exhibits came alongside videos showing how the inventions work. A shoutout as well to the friendly staff who kindly gave me and my sister a tour, helpfully explaining all of the exhibits in detail!

National Museum of Singapore – Packaging Matters

A quick visit again to NMS to see this exhibition on food packaging in 20th century Singapore! Some local coffee shops and chains still serve kopi in that flowery cup (second from left), which is nice to see!

ArtScience Museum – Wonderland

The travelling exhibition Wonderland from ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) was so fun! It shows the influence of the famous story of Alice and her image across film, photography, animation and many aspects of popular culture. I loved the sets designed for the exhibition (like the many doors!) and all the interactive elements, which made it feel like you were going down a quirky adventure too.

Wonderland made its first stop at ArtScience Museum on its global tour, so look out for it in your city! Also, I’m so glad that Singapore brings in many international exhibitions and artists’ works these days!

National Gallery Singapore – Lim Cheng Hoe: Painting Singapore

I visited National Gallery Singapore for their Awakenings and Lim Cheng Hoe: Painting Singapore exhibitions. I liked seeing the serene watercolour paintings by Lim of an older Singapore. The long-running Lim Cheng Hoe exhibition closes tomorrow on 5th Jan.

Asian Civilisations Museum – Guo Pei: Chinese Art and Couture

Seeing Guo Pei’s gowns and dresses at ACM was such a dream – every one of her creations is absolutely stunning! My most favourite were 冰雪皇后 (Snow Queen) and 大金 (Magnificent Gold Gown). I was so very excited to see 大金, because it was splashed all over Instagram when it was shown at The Met Museum’s China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition in 2015 (I did a review of the exhibition catalogue, linked here, though the catalogue doesn’t feature this dress). I couldn’t believe I could see the gown for myself!

STPI – Takashi Murakami: From Superflat to Bubblewrap

So, I can somewhat see the appeal of Takashi Murakami’s work and why he’s so popular, but I’m still not personally convinced. I’ve always found his work too “commercial”, if you will, and it’s interesting to note that the artist was commenting on the economic side of things (I can’t remember how it was phrased exactly) through these works. His works are meta – while commenting on commercialisation, his works have also become coveted commodities in the art market.

National Museum of Singapore – An Old New World

I visited NMS the most in 2019! An Old New World talks about the voyages of Dutch and British East India Companies back in their heyday and the trade that they engaged in in Singapore and in the region. I especially liked this exhibit (on loan from the Rijksmuseum, which I really want to visit!!) for its fusion sources of production – the wooden chest from Bavaria (present-day Jakarta), the porcelain from Japan, spices contained within the porcelain bottles traded across Asia, and the whole item commissioned by the Dutch East India Company.

An Old New World is on show till 29 March 2020.

ArtScience Museum – Disney: Magic of Animation

ArtScience Museum is on a great roll with their exhibitions – I absolutely loved Disney: Magic of Animation because it was like revisiting my childhood, and it was also wonderful seeing the art of my more recent Disney favourites like Tangled and Frozen II!

Disney: Magic of Animation is on show till 29 March 2020.

My final exhibition of 2019 was actually #futuretogether by teamLab at Gardens by the Bay, which I went to see on New Years’ Eve. Looking forward to all the art in 2020!

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Before I get into these events, I have to first say that the pre-opening act of Singapore Art Week (SAW) 2019 was the sudden cancellation of Art Stage Singapore. I’d always missed going to Art Stage – especially during my uni years when I would be in Hong Kong in January – but I’d intended to visit for the first time this year. Well, that didn’t happen, and the news of their cancellation caused such a big hoo-ha!

S.E.A. Focus

At least, there was the new boutique art fair S.E.A. Focus, which I was pretty interested in checking out. As the name suggests, the fair focuses on showing art from Southeast Asian artists – and it’s also nice to see stronger representation of Singaporean artists. I’ve heard so many Singaporeans complain that Singaporean artists aren’t more visible in Singapore itself, so it’s good to see more focus placed on them, too.

Of course, this gold coated Singapore-style dustbin was the first thing that caught my eye! For context, they’re usually green in colour and placed along the streets. I wish I knew the artist who made this, but there were no wall labels in this gallery’s booth. In fact, many booths didn’t have wall labels, some just hand-wrote the artists’ names on the wall – why, I wonder?

My favourites from STPI’s showing of Cheong Soo Pieng’s artworks. Not sure if these are part of STPI’s current exhibition on Cheong, but I must make the time to visit soon!

Light to Night Festival

Moving on to Light to Night Festival – there were two editions this year, firstly for Singapore Art Week with the theme ‘Traces and Echoes’ and the second for the Bicentennial (which ends tonight!).

I’m actually glad there were two versions of the festival, extending it from just a week to a whole month! I’d been so busy for the whole of January with work and life and yada yada, so I decided to check out the Bicentennial edition in February, which I thought would be more interesting.

Sticks is a light installation that keeps changing colours, and it’s inspired by the childhood game “pick-up sticks” and bakau piling, an old technique for constructing scaffolding. My sister tells me that she had played the sticks game during her primary school years, but I don’t seem to remember playing it too? Ah, a few years can already mean generation differences.

My favourite art skin was the one projected on the facade of The Arts House, about stories of the people who worked along the Singapore River. I like how the illustrations of the people projected on the columns remind me of Classical Greco-Roman sculptures!

There’s also this cute Alice in Wonderland-inspired installation, Open Books, situated outside The Arts House!

I really liked this quote! There were a few of these neon signs as part of the food bazaar outside National Gallery Singapore.

Yet another emphasis on Singapore Art… Though there’s still a ways to go.

I always love to capture National Gallery Singapore – the Supreme Court wing from this angle, and this is the most colourful I’ve seen it!

National Gallery Singapore’s art skin recounted the story of Singapore’s former Supreme Court and Civic District. I especially liked the bright colours projected on the Supreme Court wing, talking about how the building has been repurposed into an art museum, and the photographs of modern-day Singapore projected across the long stretch of the City Hall wing.

On the Bicentennial…

I had opted to only see the Bicentennial edition of Light to Night, due to lack of time and to see some light projections and installations that featured different narratives from the usual fare. As you can tell, the themes celebrate Singapore’s history and how far we have come.

While I did enjoy seeing these narratives, I’m not sure how the Bicentennial holds much significance in these festivals. The Bicentennial marks the 200th anniversary of Sir Stamford Raffles’ founding of modern Singapore in 1819. While this fact has never, in my opinion, held much negative connotation in the public eye, the focus on the Bicentennial this year seems to have tapped into issues of colonialism and post-colonialism vs. nationalism and nation-building that I feel has not been much discussed in Singapore before.

I think the problem here is: Should we celebrate a colonial past, for all its good and bad, or should we be celebrating Singapore’s own history since 1819? Or even pre-1819? Note that 7 Stories from 700 Years talks about a longer history of Singapore beyond the supposed Bicentennial mark.

Some say this uncovering of a longer history is a move to ‘decolonise’ Singapore, but I’m don’t think that’s effective when the Bicentennial term is used everywhere. It appears that the creation of a special Bicentennial that doesn’t even seem to be too sure of what it’s celebrating / commemorating has led to confusion and some ruffled feathers.

I feel that the public stir has also been triggered by the Raffles in Southeast Asia: Revisiting the Scholar and Statesman exhibition currently ongoing at Asian Civilisations Museum, in collaboration with the British Museum. I wasn’t initially all that interested to visit – I was put off by the steep price! But after reading news about visitors’ disgruntled comments about it, I want to see it for myself now… Probably on ACM’s programme days when tickets to the exhibition are at a $5 discounted rate.

In any case, I find ACM’s exhibitions hit and miss, and Raffles in Southeast Asia is probably going to be a miss. If you’ll like to see an exhibition on colonialism that is more sensitively done, check out my review of Artist and Empire at National Gallery Singapore in collaboration with Tate Britain here.

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2018 has been my full year back in Singapore since moving back, and at first, I thought there was less happenings in art here. After a while, things have picked up, but there have been many exhibitions and events that I didn’t choose to post in detail on this blog – lack of time is always a major reason for my lack of updates! So, I thought it would be nice to look back at all of the art exhibitions and events I went to this year!

Asian Civilisations Museum – Permanent Galleries

I started off 2018 with a visit to ACM to see their permanent galleries. I really loved seeing Tang Shipwreck with all of those painted bowls and those acorn-shaped game pieces (for gambling)!

ACM has just opened their new Christian and Islamic art galleries this month, so that’s something I’m definitely going to check out in 2019.

ArtScience Museum – Treasures of the Natural World

I went to see both ‘Treasures of the Natural World’ and ‘Art from the Streets’ at ArtScience Museum on the same day (double exhibition tickets are so worth it!). ArtScience Museum continues to be my favourite museum in Singapore as they have the best exhibitions.

I was surprised to find out that I really enjoyed seeing exhibits of preserved stuffed animals that look so life-like! All of the exhibits were on loan from Natural History Museum in London, which of course, I’m now planning to visit when I get myself to London!

National Museum of Singapore – The More We Get Together: Singapore’s Playgrounds 1930 – 2030

Peranakan Museum – Amek Gambar: Peranakans and Photography

There was then ‘The More We Get Together: Singapore’s Playgrounds 1930 – 2030’ at National Museum of Singapore, a simple exhibition talking about styles and models of playgrounds in Singapore. Basically, Singapore wins at urban planning, I have to say!

I also revisited Peranakan Museum for the first time in probably 10 years to see ‘Amek Gambar: Peranakans and Photography’. Sticking to the museum’s specialised theme of Peranakan culture, the Amek Gambar – meaning to take pictures – exhibition shows a range of black and white photographs of Peranakans and old cameras. The exhibition is on till February 3rd, 2019.

National Gallery Singapore – Rirkrit Tiravanija

I always visit National Gallery Singapore for exhibitions or events or just to bum at their Gallery & Co cafe. My first visit of the year was to see the new site-specific commissioned work of Rirkrit Tiravanija at NGS’ rooftop. It’s a large-scale bamboo structure with a pathway that you can walk through from one end to the other, and there’s also a Japanese teahouse in the centre, though it was too hot that day for me to join in in the tea ceremony events they were holding at the time.

Singapore Philatelic Museum – The Little Prince: Behind the Story

I like to visit Singapore Philatelic Museum (or the “Stamp Museum”) every once in a while to see their exhibitions that somehow always manage to incorporate stamps! It was nice to re-see Arnaud Nazare-Aga’s Little Prince sculptures at the ‘The Little Prince: Behind the Story’ exhibition. I had first seen them in Hong Kong in 2015 during the Christmas and New Year season – see the post here!

National Gallery Singapore – Children’s Festival

It’s always so fun at Children’s Festival at National Gallery Singapore seeing everyone, kids and adults, having fun playing with the artworks! The first one pictured is all kitchen sponges and for the second artwork, you could throw those triangle-shaped pieces and they would stick on the patterned wall.

I’m also very proud to say that I managed to speed-walk across Justiniani’s bridge in one piece this time round, HAHAHA! For last year’s edition, I was so scared of the never-ending depths of the illusionistic effect of the bridge that I actually paused while walking across it. I’m still kinda terrified of this kind of things, but clearly it’s only me, since all of the other kids were happily examining the details in the bridge.

National Library Singapore (Central) – Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in Singapore

‘Selling Dreams: Early Advertising in Singapore’ is a very well-researched and very big exhibition on advertisements in Singapore from the 1830s to the 1960s. I really recommend reading all of the details in the didactics for the exhibits, as they are all so interesting! This was probably the longest time I spent at an exhibition though, about 2 hours? The exhibition is on till 24th February 2019.

National Gallery Singapore – (Re)collect

I shared a mini review of ‘(Re)collect’ at National Gallery Singapore on my Instastories, now saved in my highlights, to try out a new format of sharing about exhibitions! That was really fun, but I also wanted to share Lee Lim’s composite photographs on a bigger screen, so that it would be clearer to see. His photographs appear like Chinese ink paintings, especially with their Chinese inscriptions and his seal on the sides of the paintings. It’s fascinating to see how photographs can also look like paintings in a way.

The Cathay – Whatshisname x Mighty Jaxx

The first time I saw these dogs, I was walking towards The Cathay from YMCA. From afar, I thought could this possibly be Jeff Koons’ Balloon Dog I’m about to see?? Well, turns out these weren’t Koons’ sculptures, but Whatshisname’s pooping dogs are humorous in their own way, yes? A total of 4 dogs were commissioned for The Cathay, and they are still on show!

Singapore Night Festival 2018

For this year’s Singapore Night Festival, I was excited to see FierS à Cheval by Compagnie des Quidams after seeing photos of their performance at the opening of Tai Kwun in Hong Kong (which I must visit!). Horses are my favourite animals, and the performers really captured the elegant movements of horses. Funnily enough, this performance was made for the Year of the Horse in 2014, but it’s been so popular that the company has continued to perform this show until now!

I also went to see the dress exhibits from World of WearableArt (WOW), which holds an annual award competition for fashion designers from all over the world to present their avant-garde designs. These two dresses were my favourite!

STPI – Handmade Readymades

These two prints by Lichtenstein were shown at STPI’s exhibition ‘Handmade Readymades’. The exhibition featured the prints of four 20th century American artists, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist and Roy Lichtenstein, but I only took a liking to Lichtenstein’s prints. The first time I visited STPI in 2015, I think, I also remember seeing and liking Lichtenstein’s prints. That aside, STPI always has top-notch exhibitions so I always like to visit. I’m looking forward to their Cheong Soo Pieng exhibition opening in January 2019!

Gardens by the Bay – Mid-autumn Celebrations

Gardens by the Bay had such a lovely display for the Mid-Autumn celebrations! The giant lanterns also gave me Story of Yanxi Palace vibes, which was everyone’s favourite drama of the year, right?? YASSS.

National Museum of Singapore – In an Instant: Polaroid at the Intersection of Art and Technology

‘In an Instant: Polaroid at the Intersection of Art and Technology’, a travelling exhibition that has made its stop at the National Museum of Singapore, was not what I was expecting at all!

The beginning of the exhibition charts out the history of the Polaroid, starting from its invention by Edwin Land, who was inspired by his daughter when she questioned on a holiday trip, why can’t we have our photographs printed out instantaneously, instead of going through the long process of developing film.

Most of the exhibition features artistic Polaroids following a few themes, but my favourites are these more contemporary shots captured on Polaroids. I didn’t realise that so many prominent artists and photographers had worked with Polaroid! The exhibition is on till 31st March 2019.

Affordable Art Fair Singapore 2018

I went for a quick walk through Affordable Art Fair in November, and all of my photos can be seen in my Instastories highlights! It was my first time attending it in Singapore and I found it much livelier that my experience at AAF in Hong Kong in 2015.

I found the paintings of those curly haired little, hmm, midgets by a Japanese artist (in the first two photos) really cute! There were also many South Korean galleries at the fair, and I really liked the style of these works by Korean artists (latter two photos).

ArtScience Museum – Future World (Revamped!)

This year was really the year of teamLab for me, seeing their works across ArtScience Museum, National Gallery Singapore and Marina Bay Sands. See my posts on teamLab – Part I and Part II!

I’d shared about ‘Future World’ at ArtScience Museum before it closed for revamp, and I was debating if I should visit the revamped exhibition… Guess what, I did! I bought a bundle ticket to see the new Future World and the Minimalism exhibition across ArtScience Museum and National Gallery Singapore, and I’m glad I did because I like the revamped exhibition even more! Also, I’m definitely going to do up posts on the ‘Minimalism: Space. Light. Object.’ exhibition(s) because I have so much opinions on it, so I would leave my comments for those upcoming posts.

Christmas!

We have reached Christmastime, the best time of the year!! This year’s theme of Disney Magical Moments for the Orchard Road Christmas decorations were so fun! I grew up on Disney, so this is definitely a special year!

Ion Art Gallery – Virtually Versailles

My last exhibition of the year was ‘Virtually Versailles’ at the Ion Art Gallery and Ion Sky, all the way up on the 55th floor of Ion Orchard. I already know that Versailles is on my travel wishlist, and this exhibition gave a taste of the Palace of Versailles’s architecture, decor and extensive art collection.

It’s mostly made up of a lot of videos, so I didn’t really capture many good photos of it. There are many interactive elements though, like biking around different parts of the palace (actual biking, virtual tour of palace), and having your face superimposed on royal portraits, which was really fun!! This free exhibition is on till 6th January 2019.

The last photo was a candid shot of me taken by my sister looking at the collection in the Palace, and it just seems like such a nice reminder to keep looking at all the art around us! Here’s to 2019!

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