SAM singapore art museum for southeast asian art

classic contemporary: contemporary southeast asian art
from SAM / the Singapore Art Museum Collection at 8Q
29 January 2010 to 2 May 2010


the exhibition aims to introduce new audiences to the idea of contemporary art and playfully
questions what makes a work of art 'classic' or 'contemporary', or 'classic contemporary'.
designboom met with curator joyce toh and had a walk through the show, a guided opportunity
to revisit major works by some of asia’s most outstanding contemporary artists.



'cemani, telur, tai kapur' (translated as ‘chicken, egg, chalk shit’) by handiwirman saputra, 2008
image © designboom


detail
image © designboom

at the entrance of the exhibition we're introduced into skews proportions of scale through
a dramatically enlarged egg with poop on top, next to a regular-sized, taxidermied chicken.
the work playfully overturns our expectations and also functions as an ironic commentary
on society’s obsession with size. indonesian artist handiwirman saputra is a member of a major
artist collective known as the jendela art group, which became well known in the mid-1990s.



'you inside, are you still OK?' oil painting by chatchai puipa, 1997
image © designboom

the thai contemporary painter chatchai puipia is well known for using images of his
own face and body to depict his own personal experiences and reactions towards society.
his self-portraits express his dissatisfaction with the social situations of the present day
and are filled with expressions of confusion, loss and alienation. within his paintings,
he often uses facial gestures as a way to convey his own ambivalent attitude towards
contemporary thai society. chatchai’s work often critiques the superficiality of this ‘smile’,
which is also used to hide one’s true feelings in order to maintain an appearance of social
harmony. the artist has an image that could be easily drawn from the abundance of tourist
literature and promotional materials that promote ‘thailand as the land of smiles’.


close-up to the mai pen rai (never mind, it’s OK) attitude
image © designboom



'cycle' by sopheap pich, 2006
image © designboom

in sopheap pich’s observation of the cambodian society, the human stomach struck him
as a theme that was symbolic of people’s concerns, in that one was anxious about either
filling it or curing it of its diseases. cycle takes the shape of a stomach as a starting point
to symbolise society in general.

the connection of two stomachs suggests ideas of strong family ties or a society held together
by simple means. it also represents fragility, controlled chaos, movement, and the ambiguity
of interior and exterior spatial perspectives. often considered the most well-known and significant
cambodian contemporary artist, pich was first trained in painting at the university of massachusetts.
feeling that his paintings did not connect with the cambodian people, he began experimenting with
commonplace materials familiar in cambodia, developing the style of rattan and wire sculptures
that now dominate his work.



detail of 'cycle', rattan and wire
image © designboom



'cindera mata a la indonesia' (souvenir from indonesia ) by agus suwage, 1996 (series of six)
image © designboom

two years before the indonesian reformasi (reform) period of 1998, which marked the end
of the new order government under indonesian president suharto and signalled the promise
of a more liberal political and social environment. agus suwage’s work in the period leading
up to reformasi was marked by increasingly explicit commentaries and critiques on indonesian
society and culture. his own face and body, as depicted in his drawings, canvases and sculptures,
were used to express struggles over identity, social values and democratic ideals.



'self portrait - interrogation of an image' by matthew ngui, 1999
6 plywood panels, markers, camera with stand
image © designboom

matthew ngu is known for his use of anamorphosis. here he applies the technique to his
self-portrait, which is stretched across six panels that rest on the floor. as a result, his image
is broken up and distorted, and comes into focus only when seen from a specific angle.



joyce toh (curator of this exhibition) explains to anita hackethal (designboom) the 'self portrait - interrogation of an image'
image © designboom

importantly for the artist, the work invites audiences to participate by inscribing their
thoughts about art, the country and the singaporean identity on portions of the image.



the portrait comes into focus only when seen from a specific angle
image © designboom

incoherent from every angle except for the single viewpoint determined by the artist,
the anamorphic image fascinates because it also requires the active involvement of
another eye (the human or digital) for the image to become recognizable.



stairways
image © designboom

the mission of the singapore art museum (SAM) is to preserve and present the art histories
and contemporary art practices of singapore and the southeast asian region. to date, SAM
has amassed the world’s largest public collection of modern and contemporary southeast asian
artworks with a growing component in international contemporary art. many of these once-emerging
artists have since established notable achievements on regional and international platforms.
housed in a restored 19th century mission school, its permanent collection is displayed on
a rotational basis. this exhibition marks the start of SAM's new contemporary art programming
centred on enabling artistic development through the creation of exhibition and programming platforms,
as well as growing audiences for contemporary art.

opened in august 2008, 8Q sam is a contemporary art space with fresh, multi-disciplinary,
interactive and community oriented programming; a place where the public can directly experience
the work and ideas of living artists, and in relation to its aesthetic and social context. visitors will be
able to meet the artists whose works are on show to investigate about their art practice and work process.
with singapore becoming a global city for the arts, SAM’s international networks bring about a confluence
of ideas, and create a dynamic arts scene invigorated by international flows of ideas, talents,
knowledge and resources.



first floor
image © designboom

see also part 2 of the sam museum visit here.