SINGAPORE – The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) recently announced the names of a further 12 artists who are participating in the Singapore Biennale 2016 (SB2016), one of Asia’s most exciting contemporary visual art exhibitions. Titled An Atlas of Mirrors, this edition will draw on diverse artistic viewpoints that trace the migratory and intertwining relationships within the region, and reflect on shared histories and current realities with East and South Asia.
The shortlist comprises established and emerging artists based in or from Singapore, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam, who will be presenting their works at SB2016. SB2016 will held from October 27, 2016 to February 26, 2017.
SB2016 Artists
The artists were shortlisted based on their past works and art practices, and were selected in relation to the title and themes of An Atlas of Mirrors. The artists will present either existing works, curatorially selected for their resonance with core themes in the Biennale, or new commissions specially created for SB2016. The works will span various mediums.
The 12 participating artists are: Ade Darmawan from Indonesia, Hemali Bhuta from India, Bui Cong Khanh from Vietnam, Chia Chuyia from Malaysia, Deng Guoyuan from China, Patricia Eustaquio from the Philippines, Sakarin Krue-On from Thailand, MAP Office from Hong Kong, Pala Pothupitiye from Sri Lanka, Melissa Tan from Singapore, Vertical Submarine from Singapore and Harumi Yukutake from Japan.
On the whole, there will be more than 50 artists that will be presented at SB2016, 10 of whom have already been announced in January 2016. They are Ahmad Fuad Osman from Malaysia, Martha Atienza from the Philippines, Rathin Barman from India, Fyerool Darma from Singapore, Han Sai Por from Singapore, Nguyen Phuong Linh from Vietnam, Qiu Zhijie from China, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook from Thailand, Titarubi from Indonesia and Tun Win Aung and Wah Nu from Myanmar.
The 22 artists announced so far were shortlisted and invited after careful deliberation and discussions by the SB2016 curatorial team, comprising SB2016 Creative Director Dr. Susie Lingham, SAM Curators Ms. Tan Siuli, Ms. Joyce Toh, Mr. Louis Ho, Ms. Andrea Fam and Mr. John Tung, as well as four Associate Curators who have been invited by SAM to work collaboratively together. The four Associate Curators are Ms. Suman Gopinath from Bangalore, India, Mr. Michael Lee from Singapore, Ms. Nur Hanim Khairuddin from Ipoh, Malaysia, and Ms. Xiang Liping from Shanghai, China.
SB2016 Affiliate Projects
Engaging with the wider visual arts community in Singapore, SB2016 will include a number of Affiliate Projects as part of its official programme. SB2016 Affliate Projects are organized and developed by other art institutions in dialogue with the SB curatorial team, and the projects respond closely to the Biennale title of An Atlas of Mirrors and its curatorial themes. The first Affiliate Projects confirmed for SB2016 are exhibitions by DECK and Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, LASALLE College of the Arts (ICAS), which will be held in the same period as SB2016.
DECK, an independent art space dedicated to the art of photography in Singapore and Southeast Asia, will present two exhibitions in response to the SB2016 title – The Natural History of an Island by Robert Zhao Renhui and Hanging Heavy On My Eyes by Ang Song Nian. Both artists will explore how humans have altered, manipulated and intervened into landscapes and ‘natural’ spaces.
The world precedes the eye, presented by the ICA Singapore, will be curated by Ms. Bala Starr, Ms. Silke Schmickl, and Ms. Melanie Pocock. The exhibition will feature works by artists based in Asia, responding to the overarching SB2016 question of how we picture the world and ourselves, through a material examination of contemporary art practice in Asia. Complementing The world precedes the eye is a solo project presentation, Black-hut by Boedi Widjaja, that will bring together architecture, modernism, memory and place.
SB2016 will be anchored at the Singapore Art Museum on Bras Basah Road and Queen Street. Other heritage venues – including venues within the Bras Basah Bugis precinct – will also be explored as possible sites for SB2016 artworks. Taking place from October 27, 2016 to February 26, 2017, the four-month long international contemporary art exhibition is organised by SAM and commissioned by the National Arts Council of Singapore.
