Sifa 2024: A strong finish

EVERY good story has a strong conclusion that leaves the audience thrilled and satisfied. To this end, the Singapore International Festival of Arts saved some of its best shows for last, ensuring that the three-week festival closed on a high note. From the stunning multisensory triumph of Refuge by Singapore band The Observatory, to the Venice Biennale 2019 top prize winner Sun & Sea making its debut on these shores, we review the festival’s rousing curtain-closers.

Refuge

By The Observatory (Singapore)

Refuge is the one work from the festival that deserves to be brought back for a wider audience. (Indeed, if there’s a Singapore artist that deserves to be seriously considered for the Singapore Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, it would be The Observatory. But more on this later.)  It is unlike any work this journalist has ever seen. Although The Observatory is best known as an experimental music band that dabbles in other media such as film and sculptural art, this mesmerising work leaves no doubt that their tangential artistic explorations are bearing rich fruit.