What it is about when it is about nothing

nothing

PRESS RELEASE    |      E-CATALOGUE

5 September – 25 October 2015

Adeline Kueh, Ho Rui An, Homa Shojaie, Jennis Li Cheng Tien, Michael Lee, Perception3 (Regina De Rozario & Seah Sze Yunn), Robert Zhao.

Curated by Michael Lee

What it is about when it is about nothing is a group exhibition of works by 7 sets of artists curated by Michael Lee, which aims to broaden the discussions about Singapore art beyond the ongoing surge of thematic shows about Singapore identity, quirks and repressed histories. It aims firstly to explore the aesthetics of “nothing” in the context of an art scene anxious to assign something meaningful to artworks, and secondly to expand definitions of the “Singapore artist” beyond country of birth, nationality and base.

In this show, we present to you the work of 1 duo and 6 individual artists—Perception3 (Regina De Rozario & Seah Sze Yunn), Ho Rui An, Robert Zhao, Jennis Li Cheng Tien, Homa Shojaie, Adeline Kueh and Michael Lee—all exploring various issues pertaining to Singapore as a suggestion.

Ho Rui An, an artist and writer working in the intersections of contemporary art, cinema, performance and theory, will be exploring images that investigate their sites of emergence, transmission and disappearance. Through photographic portraits inspired by mentions of Singapore in world fiction, he examines the notion of Singapore as a cameo guest appearance. On the other hand, Robert Zhao’s work, which addresses human’s relationship with nature, pays close attention to a form of ‘controlled coexistence’. Tainan-born, Berlin-based Singaporean Jennis Li Cheng Tien, who investigates values that humans place on ideas and things, will be showing sculptures including one consisting of almost identical keys. American Homa Shojaie, born in Iran, explores abstract paintings as ‘veils’. Adeline Kueh—born in Sarawak, Malaysia, and is a Singapore permanent resident—makes installations that reconsider the relationship we have with objects and rituals. For this exhibition, she will explore the concept of vacancy as a sign of welcome and longing. Perception3 (Regina de Rozario & Seah Sze Yunn), devoted to exploring the themes of memory and loss in the city, will be showing a video that investigates the beauty of an empty void deck. Last but not least, Michael Lee, an artist and guest curator of the show, researches urban memory and fiction, as a way to review utopian ideals. He will be exhibiting a selection of photographs of shop interiors as spaces-in-transition.

In this eclectic exhibition, viewers are asked to question the essence of nothingness and Singapore as a suggestion.

Opening Reception

Friday, 25 September 2015, 6-9PM

© 2024 Mizuma Gallery Pte Ltd