New book shines light on region’s vast art scene

IN the global art circuit, South-east Asian art has been gaining attention in recent decades. But knowledge of its diverse scenes and players remains limited to a small minority of art professionals and enthusiasts. Thankfully, there is now a book that offers a friendly introduction to more than 60 of the most important artists and collectives around the region, penned in authoritative but accessible language by 14 writers.

SEA: Contemporary Art In Southeast Asia is edited by Ute Meta Bauer (curator of the Singapore Pavilion in Venice Biennale 2022), Tan Boon Hui (the late executive director of Arts House Limited) and art historian Karin G Oen. The editors describe it as a “response to the relative lack of publications with a non-prescriptive purview, designed for a broad readership”. Across 232 pages, the large cloth-bound hardcover offers brief introductions to the most important artists in the region, spanning from Myanmar to Indonesia, coupled with one or more pictures of their works.

Because of the concise format, entire histories of prominent artists are whittled down to a few paragraphs and photographs. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. There are already available resources out there (though not necessarily in English) should the reader wish to learn more. And images of their other works are, in most cases, just a Google search away. (Indeed, Google would be a reader’s best friend here, since each short profile often raises more questions than answers.)

If the book has any biases, it is perhaps the fact that there are far too many Singapore artists cited here. They make up 14 of the over 60 profiles – that’s about a quarter of the book. The list comprises Amanda Heng, Charles Lim, Erika Tan, Heman Chong, Ho Tzu Nyen, Lee Wen, Ming Wong, Post Museum, Robert Zhao, Shubigi Rao, Suzann Victor, Tang Da Wu, The Artists Village and Yeo Siew Hua. 

The Philippines and Indonesia have richer art scenes and histories than Singapore, but each has nine entries only. They include iconic artists such as Agus Suwage, Melati Suryodarmo, Norberto Roldan and Pacita Abad. But the omissions of certain names, such as the Philippines’ David Medalla and Indonesia’s Eko Nugroho, are glaring, as some of them have far more significant legacies than a few of the Singapore artists. 

Less than half of the book is dedicated to artists of the other South-east Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia. Meanwhile, Brunei and Laos have no artists featured here; both countries have comparatively less developed art scenes. 

What is wonderful about the book is its inclusion of several artist-run spaces such as Green Papaya Art Projects in Manila, Taring Padi in Yogyakarta and Sa Sa Art Projects in Cambodia. Instead of championing the popular cult of the individual artist, the book recognises the roles that art spaces play in cultivating the voices of many artists at the same time. 

As the editors state in the book’s introduction: “We are aware of the incompleteness of this volume… Our hope is that it will be followed by others, in support of expanding the knowledge of the multifaceted practices that only in recent years have begun to be matched by newly founded institutions and studied in only recently developed academic courses.”

Much of the book’s entire introduction is devoted to the editors’ explanation as to why a book such as this cannot be “a comprehensive survey nor a platform to assert particular regional or national characteristics”. The book is envisioned as only the first in a series that continues to shine a light on the artists and artistic practices of the region.

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Quibbles aside, this is still a significant publication, not least because it attempts to bring to the layperson a substantial sampling of the region’s contemporary art scenes, which have so long remained buried under the countless tomes on Western art. One can only hope it is widely distributed and read.

SEA: Contemporary Art In Southeast Asia is available on amazon.sg and Kinokuniya.