Art for the end of the world

IF the end of the world is nigh, what's the use of art anyway? Well, it depends on which artist you ask. If it's Rirkrit Tiravanija, he would give you a painting of a portal to exit this world and enter a different one. If it's Teppei Kaneuji, he would tell you the world was always mad to begin with - that's why he creates candy-coloured sculptures of random objects and meshes them together like a salad. If it's Heri Dono, he would point you to his sculpture on which the words "Zaman Edan" ("Age of Madness") are inscribed and tell you your expectations of a safe, secure world are simply delusional.

Curated by Tan Siuli, STPI's new exhibition Turning The Axis Of The World imagines a cataclysmic overturning of the natural order of the world. From STPI's vast catalogue of works by the region's best artists, Ms Tan has selected over 30 works by 16 artists who have, in one way or another, touched on the ideas of death, destruction, the apocalypse and the subsequent rebirth of nature.

Considering how good artists are at imagining both the pinnacle of utopian ideals and the depths of dystopian despair, it isn't as impossible a task as one might imagine.