Wild, wacky, wondrous: Under-the-radar shows at Singapore Art Week

“I AM in the process of conceptualising clothes for this pillar,” says fashion designer Liz Zhu, gesturing towards a large and unremarkable pillar looming behind her. “I see parallels between the pillar and the human torso, so I’ve decided to design a corset for it,” she says, this time motioning to a pink fabric structure slumped in front of the stoic pillar.

Zhu is one of 10 creatives unveiling their works-in-progress at Supper House’s open studio, situated on level 7 of GRiD shopping mall. Crazy as she sounds, she’s hardly the kookiest one here. There’s Nicholas Ong inventing a cyber shrine for monks, Liszu Tan transforming common household objects into wacky assemblages, and Damien Soh trying to intuitively extract coherent images out of his oodles of doodles. The exhibition is titled Nothing But A Day Dream, so the artists are creating works ranging from the surreal and ephemeral to the illogical and outright ridiculous.

As is wont with the annual Singapore Art Week, creative eccentrics are everywhere, contributing their unique and unconventional perspectives in over 100 shows across the island. But while the spotlight often shines on grand art fairs and major museum exhibitions, Art Week is not short of wondrous small shows and wildly avant-garde displays, mounted by established artists, emerging talents and young Turks still in art school.

Here are five of the best under-the-radar showcases you should catch.

1. Aesthetic responses

The large star-studded collectors’ shows in Gillman Barracks may be getting all the raves on social media. But this beautifully conceived jewel box of South Asian artworks located a few kilometres from Gillman certainly deserves your love and attention too. 

Featuring works by 10 artists belonging to three different collectors, Aesthetic Responses looks at the way artists respond to the cultural, political and social history of South Asia. Curator Savita Apte has selected works from a range of media, from metal work and sculpture to painting and photography. Each work packs a punch with its genuine physical beauty and rich commentary on the political and socio-economic history of South Asia.  

Among the highlights is Reena Saini Kallat’s large plastic replica of the crown made for Queen Elizabeth for her coronation in 1937. It features a large 105-carat diamond named Koh-i-Noor that originates from South Asia. The governments of India, Pakistan and other South Asian countries say the diamond was “stolen” from their lands, but the British government insists it was “taken legally” under a treaty penned during its colonial rule. The work is emblematic of the violence and erasure of history inflicted by occupying powers, a theme that resonates in the conflicts of today.

Elsewhere, Adeela Suleman’s wall sculpture critiques India’s caste system, Sovan Kumar’s fibreglass figures poke fun at migration, and Gopa Trivedi’s paper works revisit ancient Indian fables. The gallery assistant Vedant Srihari gives a good, comprehensive tour for visitors. 

At The Culture Story in Thye Hong Centre

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2. Keys Under The Sofa

Cups that can walk and make music. Tiny and mysterious holograms popping up in unexpected places. Miniature storage boxes filled with odds and ends. 

This charming exhibition at the beloved second-hand furniture store Hock Siong & Co hides its artworks among the wares, creating something of an Easter egg hunt for visitors. As a result, you don’t just find art, you also chance upon pre-loved objects that you want to take home, such as antique designer chairs, beautiful vintage jewellery and vases from bygone eras. 

Wares aside, the art curated by Kamiliah Bahdar is really quite delightful. They include Jaxton Su’s tiny holograms of the store’s furniture, Woong Soak Teng’s performance video responding to chairs of all shapes and designs, Geraldine Kang’s photo series historicising the store, Yang Jie’s musical kinetic contraptions fashioned from cups and teapots, and Cynthia Delaney Suwito’s miniature reproductions of her friends’ real-life storage boxes.

The works manipulate spatial poetics and constructs. They invite you to see second-hand furniture with fresh eyes, and embrace the charm of repurposed objects.

At Hock Siong & Co in Jun Jie Industrial Building

3. Nothing But A Day Dream

4. One And Three Chairs

5. In Times To Come

The above three recommendations can all be found in one location: level 7 of GRiD mall in Selegie Road. One of them is the aforementioned Nothing But A Day Dream by design studio Supper House. Here, curator Ashley Chiam has assembled a diverse group of 10 creatives from various disciplines for an open-studio residency. Anyone is welcome to drop by and talk to the artists in person about their works-in-progress, and the artists are nothing if not forthcoming and frank. 

Besides Liz Zhu and the other artists above, there are also Natalia Tan who weaves exquisite fabric out of discarded material, Benedict Yu channelling religious transcendence into both physical and virtual art, Masuri Mazlan transforming the humble cornice into unrecognisable blobs to subvert conventional domesticity, and Siew Guang Hong drawing poignant parallels between the self-amputation instincts of crabs and his own painful experiences as a gay man.

A few doors down, there is another show-and-tell titled One And Three Chairs organised by Critical Craft Collective, which features no less than three dozen artists and curators. There are so many works here, it’s impossible to list them all. But standout works include Sherlyn Tang’s mournful memorial for someone she recently lost, with circles and funnels hinting at the circularity of grief; Joanne Lim’s vibrant kitchen towels whose designs are generated by inputting soup recipes into a computer software; and Alpana Vij’s utterly delicate artworks involving the patient repair of dead leaves with gold thread.

Finally there’s In Times To Come, a magnificent showcase of art photography by some of Malaysia’s leading shutterbugs including Eiffel Chong, Ahmad Fuad Osman and Minstrel Kuik. Organised by Singapore’s foremost photo gallery Deck, these images focus on social issues, economic disparities and political events in our neighbouring country, shedding light on social injustices, the struggles of minority communities, and other human plights.

Among the most acerbic photographs are by Vincent Leong. In one photo series titled Keeping Up With The Abdullahs, he captures large Indian and Chinese families dressed in Malay attire, posing for a family picture – a poignant commentary on the societal pressures faced by minority communities to assimilate into the predominant culture. His other series titled Executive Properties features snapshots of abandoned developmental projects juxtaposed with scenic views of Malaysia.

Taking a lighter note, Nadirah Zakariya captures the funny moments brought about by the stay-at-home orders during the Covid-19 pandemic. Unable to leave home, the artist made fake flowers and embedded them in drink cans, sponge cakes and instant noodles. She photographs them in the manner of Dutch still-life paintings, perfectly imitating their lighting and composition.

This is one show that’ll keep you glued to the walls.

All three shows are at GRid mall in Selegie Road. For more information, visit artweek.sg.