Departures | New Releases: Yanyun Chen, Hong Zhu An, Prabhavathi Meppayil
One of the fun things about STPI is how its paper-centred workshop serves as laboratory and incubator for artists who have had no experience with the medium.
STPI has hosted everyone from young practitioners to renowned international artists for residencies, and it is always intriguing to see the products of these stints. And, of course, it is an opportunity for canny collectors to buy works by promising young talents or score more affordable pieces from established names.
Departures showcases the works of three artists – Singaporean Yanyun Chen; China-born, Singapore-based Hong Zhu An; and Prabhavathi Meppayil from India.
Followers of Chen’s practice will see common themes and motifs in the paper works here.
Branch, a series created with hardground etching, offset lithography and charcoal and chalk on mulberry paper, harks back to her densely coloured charcoal work. The visual – reminiscent of a human skeleton – recalls her focus on human arms in Gently Savage.
Paper Spine, too, employs the medium in a playful parallel with human anatomy, its embossed and watermarked textures bridging her early The Scars That Write Us works with her latest Scar Writings series on metal.
She is not the only one playing with the medium. Hong’s Early Summer remakes Chinese ink in abstract splatters reminiscent of Jackson Pollock, using the distinctly non-traditional materials of cel vinyl paint and paper pulp.
Equally intriguing are his collaged pieces, where chunks of traditional Chinese calligraphy are embedded in coloured paper pulp.
In a similar, archaeological vein, Meppayil – whose practice is influenced by her family’s goldsmithing heritage – embeds copper wires in assorted paper media. With its clean geometry, the cu/lp/ series will appeal to fans of minimalist art.
Where: STPI – Creative Workshop & Gallery, 41 Robertson Quay
MRT: Fort Canning
When: Till June 9; 10am to 7pm, Mondays to Saturdays; 11am to 5pm, Sundays; closed on public holidays
Admission: Free
Info: str.sg/9C7t
Figuring A Scene | In Dialogue With Patrick Flores And Siddharta Perez
Get insights into the debates over exhibition-making in this session, part of the National Gallery Singapore’s ongoing Figuring A Scene series.
The relationship between museum visitors and institutions has changed as visitors have grown more sophisticated and institutions have become more aware of some of the more fraught issues underlying exhibition-making.
This conversation between Dr Patrick Flores, the gallery’s deputy director for curatorial and research, and Ms Siddharta Perez, the National University of Singapore Museum’s curatorial lead, will explore some of these issues.
It will address the question of how exhibitions shape the way visitors make sense of history and society, and explore the tension between “making” and “making sense”.
Where: Glass Room, Level 5, Supreme Court Wing, National Gallery Singapore
MRT: City Hall
When: May 11, 11am
Admission: Free with registration
Info: str.sg/CEyy
Singapore’s National Collection on UTme!
The National Heritage Board is on a mission to promote Singapore’s national collection and its latest initiative after its collaboration with Museum Martket is with Japanese fast-fashion brand Uniqlo.
The first of a planned series is a T-shirt, which depicts, with a rather funky 1960s vibe, the Singapore Stone and the legend of Badang the Magnificent. The Stone is a fragment of a sandstone monolith inscribed with Kawi script. This earliest example of writing in Singapore is linked to Badang, who reportedly threw the stone from Fort Canning to the mouth of the Singapore River.
The T-shirt, now available only via print on demand at Uniqlo’s Jewel Changi Airport outlet, is priced at $19.90 for kids and $29.90 for adults. It is part of the brand’s UTme! customisation/personalisation service.
Three more designs will be rolled out over the next two months in this long-term partnership.
Where: Uniqlo Jewel Changi Airport, B1-212 to 216, 78 Airport Boulevard
MRT: Changi Airport
