HORROR - Nanyang Technological University

CHRONICLE
19
05
GILLMAN BARRACKS
YOU would not normally expect military
regimentation and contemporary art to share
a common heritage.
But the Gillman Barracks made the
intersection possible.
Nestled in the serene atmosphere of
Alexandra, the barracks — a former British
military camp — houses 13 galleries featuring
a variety of artists and medium, and is the
National Arts Council’s (NAC) latest bid to
groom Singapore to become Asia’s arts hub.
Other than being a spot for art enthusiasts,
the colonial-style building has also been
transformed into a chill-out spot, with
eateries like Timbre and fine-dining
restaurant Masons in the vicinity.
The NAC also aims to groom young local
talent. Come 2013, students of the School of
the Arts, Design and Media can display their
works in the gallery space allocated to them.
As part of the National Arts Outreach
Program, the NAC also conducts free
walking tours of the barracks.
And We Dreamt We Were Birds
This surreal installation featuring 12
floating military beds by Singapore-based
artist Donna Ong looks like a scene right
out of the 2011 blockbuster hit Inception.
The haunting, yet whimsical piece highlights
Singapore’s colonial roots—with the bunk
beds signifying the British soldiers who used
to occupy the Barracks capturing the history
of the Gillman Barracks in a poetic manner.
Interaction with the exhibit is encouraged,
blurring the lines between the art piece and
the audience.
Blended by Desire
Ardent fans of graffiti street artist Banksy
and sk0l (the sticker lady) should not miss
this exhibit. “Blended by Desire” features
the work of four Jakarta-based street artists
in the form of installations, wall paintings
and videos.
This piece plays up the artists’ desires to
express themselves amidst the noise and
clutter that characterise the modern world.
The installation includes a graffiti piece with
tongue-in-cheek wordplay — “Stop following
me” in reference to the social media twitter.
Metallic
This psychedelic installation by Japanese
avant-garde artist Yaoyo Kusama features
sculptures and paintings with colorful
repetitive patterns.
Plagued by psychiatric problems since
young, Kusama finds creating repetitive
patterns cathartic.
This internationally acclaimed artist has
works that have been featured in MoMa
(Museum of Modern Art) in New York
and collaborated with luxury brand Louis
Vuitton. Metallic reflects her evolving style,
as she explores different colours and shapes.
Vertical Submarine
Rebellious, thought-provoking, and done
with a stroke of satire, art collective Vertical
Submarine are three individuals who call
themselves “part-time pranksters with fulltime
jobs”.
In fact, one of their tongue-in-cheek
initiatives, “Flirting Point”, was a light
installation, displayed outside the Singapore
Art Museum in 2010. With a few benches
and a sign that read “flirting point”, the team
created a designated area for the forbidden
act of flirting, mocking the restricted society
we live in.
Vertical Submarine has also ventured
beyond doing art installations, releasing
their first theatre production Dust in 2011.
PULSE
BRINGING in new blood, Pulse is an
independent exhibition that aims to keep the
heart of the art scene thumping in Singapore,
featuring works from 10 young artists who
are students, fresh graduates and amateur
artists. It all began with three ambitious girls
who wanted to support local artists by giving
them an opportunity to showcase their work
in a professional gallery.
“The momentum has always been there,
I only think that a lot of the independently
initiated events do not receive a wide
exposure and are isolated to certain groups,
so you see the same people attending the
same type of events,” said Ms Izziyana
Suhaimi, a fresh graduate from the School
of the Arts, Design and Media.
Facing the cold realities of student debts
fresh out of art school, Pulse recognizes that
the world of a young artist is fraught with
a compendium of contradictions, highs and
lows, encouraging and discouraging factors
that could make or break the young artist.
As such, the exhibition exudes a keen spirit
of hope, passion and fierce determination
among these young artists, bringing their
works from the periphery to centre stage.
“What is really important to us is to
showcase the artists’ processes and journey
in making their art, and not only the final
artwork,” says Ms Suhaimi. “Hence we
have requested the artists to keep sending
us photos of their processes. We will also
be exhibiting some of their sketchbooks,
which sometimes can be more interesting
and revealing than the artworks.”
In addition, the organising team also
documented the artists at work on video—
mostly from home—and interviewed them
to seek out how they deal with the lack of
support in terms of space, time, and funding.
Pulse opens this Friday. Join local artists
in an artsy celebration from 7 to 9pm with
Mr Iskandar Jalil, a Cultural Medallion
recipient for Visual Arts, as the Guest of
Honour for the opening night in the heart
of Kampung Glam.
THE SPACE PROGRAM
THE Space Program, a concept created
by Foreign Policy Design Group—a local
design company, aims to use design to
redefine ordinary places in Singapore. By
amalgamating principles of design, intellect
and contemporary culture, The Space
Program creates an experience that is part
museum, part store and part installation.
Their first exhibition, launched at the
lobby of New Majestic Hotel, encourages
the audience to reconsider the importance
of heritage in contemporary Singapore.
The highlight of the installation—a 2-meter
washboard, represents the hard work and
pain the founding fathers of Singapore had
to go through.
The collective hopes to eventually bring
this concept of challenging the notion of
space to cities all over the world.
PHOTOS | JEMIMAH SEOW
ART HIGH & ART LOW: (Left) In Metallic, Colourful and psychiadelic marks the work of Japanese avant-garde Yaoyo Kusama. (Above right) Military beds at the And We Dreamt We Were Birds exhibition invites its
audience to float along with its poetic narratives. (Above) Blended by Desire was able to blend hard issues with a high element of fun.