Online Brochure - Singapore Art Museum

Art Garden:
Children’s Season at the
Singapore Art Museum
Runs through 18 July 2010
SAM at 8Q
Ming Wong:
Life of Imitation
Runs through 22 August 2010
SAM
Enter a world of wonder and imagination as SAM at 8Q is transformed into a magical ‘art garden’
showcasing artworks inspired by nature. Titled Art Garden, this interactive contemporary art
exhibition is specially designed for children and families to explore and see the world in new and
different ways.
Ming Wong, Life of Imitation, 2009, video installation, Singapore Art Museum collection
Meet Walter, a curious colossal rabbit by Dawn Ng. Hop into Walter's Garden and learn about
colours, shapes and develop psychomotor skills through play. Learn about plant life-cycle through
Presented by artist Ming Wong and curated by Tang Fu Kuen, Life of Imitation celebrates and
Floribots, an award winning work by Geoffrey Drake-Brockman, featuring 128 giant robot flowers
reflects on the Golden Age of Singapore cinema in the 1950s and 60s: an era of nation building,
that 'grow' before your very eyes and 'bloom' pink and yellow. Step into The Enchanted Forest,
struggle, rapid modernisation and cinematic utopia.
Sandra Lee’s beautifully illustrated, mixed media work where sheep fly and imaginary animals roam
freely. Venture into Theodore Watson’s and Emily Gobeille’s Funky Forest, where your movements
Inspired by the rich legacy, Wong re-reads ‘national cinema’ as mediated by language,
will make streams 'flow' and trees 'grow', or run over a field of Daisies. Enter a surreal world of
role-playing and identity. He re-interprets films which engage with notions of mis-casting and
stop-motion animation and cheer for the Ringmaster as she battles chocolate monsters and other
parroting, and reflects on Singapore’s roots, hybridity and the politics of becoming. The first work
villains in Joo Choon Lin’s STOP in here and get into the MOTION!
is based on a compendium of works by P. Ramlee, the wunderkind of Malay cinema. The second
re-presents a scene from the Hollywood melodrama Imitation of Life (1959) by Douglas Sirk about
Art Garden is supported by information labels, hands-on activities, and an activity book designed
a black mother and her “white” daughter. The third re-creates the scene in Wong Kar Wai’s In the
for children. You can also catch a short film at the Moving Image Gallery, read picture books on
Mood for Love (2000) with actress Maggie Cheung rehearsing a scene where she confronts her
loan from the National Library Board or learn more about art at the Programme Space.
spouse‘s infidelity. The exhibition also unveils cinema posters by Singapore’s last surviving
billboard painter; rare screen memorabilia of a private collector; and documentaries by film-maker
Usual exhibition admission charges apply. Free admission for children aged 6 and below. Each
Sherman Ong.
child must be accompanied by an adult holding a valid exhibition admission ticket.
This award-winning exhibition, organised by the National Arts Council, premiered at the
Sponsors
Supporting TV Channel
Singapore Pavilion in the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009, and won Special Mention from the jury.
This is the highest accolade ever received by Singapore at the prestigious international art
platform. SAM is proud to re-stage the show on home ground with a new design and additional
exhibits before taking the exhibition overseas.
10 11