Jiahui Muses: January 2014

Art Stage Singapore 2014 Day 1

by JH - Friday, January 24, 2014

I am going to post nothing but pictures here of my 2 days affair at the Art Stage Singapore.

There's just too much to see and say~~ haha so just enjoy the pictures if you did not happen to be there... Totally rejoiced over Singapore's booming international art scene, there's so much new exciting art fairs, art exhibits going on. (WHY didn't you go???~~)

Anyway from a contest I have won, I got hold of the VIP pass which allowed me unlimited access to the Art Stage fair for 5 days (including the VIP preview) but of course, was so darn tired after just spending 1 day at the fair...

Unable to finish within 1 day, we went back on a 2nd day just to check out on all that we have missed.

I am going to caption whatever little I can remember from the massive curated museum-style exhibition.

So enjoy the pics below!!

This is right at the entrance, held at the MBS expo.

Art Stage Singapore is the largest SEA's art fair and auction exhibit. Collaborating with leading curators to guide the artist selection and exhibition presentation, Art Stage Singapore presents 130 galleries and it in its 4th year running.

What's special this year is that the exhibition is divided into different regions' platforms: Australia, Central Asia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

I was there at the India Platform's meet the artists and curator session.

Here, the audiences met the curator for the India Platform- Bose Krishnamachari.

We met the artist- Sakshi Gupta who produces the following artwork below. Exploring the final moments of death and temptation, this installation was casted in cement

Also at the India platform is this work by Pooja Iranna, who used staple bullets to construct buildings.

Jitish Kallat's sculptures showcase characters who are travelers being searched at an airport checkpoint, explores India's entry into a globalized economy.

Dancing chilies for you?

Also managed to join the Platform Art Tours which I think was really good, these 1 hr tours were FOC and led by professional guides. I think this is really a good initiative to engage the public who might be new to Art Stage. I think it's partly due to these visitors- friendly engagement activities that attracted such a high number of visitors to the Art Stage this year. In fact I saw a lot of kids with their parents and though these are all comtemporary arts, it's a good start to expose kids through such avenues.

At the Korea Platform

Han Myung-Ok's colorful display of everyday 'bad' news we see on the papers to be covered over by colorful dots.

27 years old Jihye Park's exploration of relationship from a binary perspective. Her installation also included a video based on real life incident and the story of Pied Piper.

Seung Woo-Back's work of unreal images pictured together to form his own interpretation of the reality.

Supposed to depict North Korea- but this is not an actual photograph

Little details like the one below indicated presences of life with shops selling stuff.

In the Japan Platform

Nobuhiro Nakanishi's Layer Drawing- the Tactual Sky represents the flow of time as a physical entity. A series of photos arranges in layers. Do you see the moon?

Beans Cosmo by Satoshi Hirose, showcased everyday objects- beans, seeds encased in acrylic resin prisms.

Counting down to time- a scientific calculated timer of sorts.

Mana-va-reh by Anurendra Jegadeva (Malaysia)

The artist himself

At the SEA platform- tree barks

Tunnel Mark Justiniani (Philippines) - Love this splendid work and there are 2 ways to interpret as from the artist...

1. concept of a ship with it rowers fanged out on the sides.

2. Resembling that of the female Fallopian tube... the centre can symbolize DNA, sperms whatnot...

Now touring around the exhibit area....

Another fantastic work at the SEA platform, this installation explores the mitigation of history with present and how history has been eroded ( by the presence of rain). The bed frame and its motifs is a combination between Chinese and Malay culture.