The secret life of secondary forests

IN 2018, Robert Zhao Renhui had a profound realisation while watching The Ancient Woods, a nature documentary directed by Mindaugas Survila. The film, showcasing the wildlife in a majestic old-growth forest in Lithuania, is strikingly unlike typical nature documentaries, in that no narrator guides the audience through the images; the scenes just unfold without explanation.

Recalling his experience with the film at the age of 40, Zhao said: “I found myself compelled to immerse myself in the animals and their environment, to be fully present in each moment and to simply watch the events unravel. It made me reflect on how nature is often interpreted, ‘explained’ by humans for other humans. It led me to challenge my own artistic approach.”

Zhao was recently announced as the chosen artist for the Singapore Pavilion at the 60th Venice Biennale, which runs from Apr 20 to Nov 24 next year. He joins forces with Haeju Kim, a senior curator at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), to present a collection of works delving into the intricate relationship between nature and culture.