image © designboom

mike nelson’s graveyard of wounded plinths functions as an imitation of a once-grand exhibition. seemingly suffering from an attack and complete disrepair, the breaking and destruction of objects helps the viewer to conjure a memory of clean surfaces and contrast their memories with the environment of the piece.

built from the remains of a previous exhibition, nelson took the destructed panels and rebuilt them into the plinths seen here. originally on display in london in an clean white-walled space, it is at the 2011 singapore biennale on the bare concrete floors and almost abandoned looking space that the piece plays a heavier role for viewer. the usual mixing of theatrical elements and fabricated objects found in nelson’s work comes to play in the building itself being surrounded by overgrown natural elements, extending the piece outside of the room.

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

singapore art biennale 2011: mike nelson image © designboom

mike nelson (b. 1960) lives ands works in london.

— the third edition of the singapore biennale (SB2011) opened its doors to the public on march 13th and runs until may 15th, 2011. designboom visited the shows, led by artistic director matthew ngui and curators russell storer and trevor smith. the SB2011 open house program is organized by the singapore art museum (SAM) of the national heritage board and supported by the national arts council, singapore. 63 artists from 30 countries are presenting 161 works across four exhibition venues – SAM and SAM at 8Q, the national museum of singapore, old kallang airport and marina bay.

with its focus on artistic processes, the third singapore biennale marks the highest proportion of artists to date who are presenting new site-specific commissions or premieres: 34 artists or 54 % of all participating artists. it also has the strongest asian and local representation to date, with more than 40% of the artists (27 out of 63) hailing from asia and nine singaporean artists in all.