#10 Art in Between Cargo Containers
Editor: @nwangerd
It was during a business trip to Korea last July. I had only just heard that Yoajung(요아정) was the latest trend. I placed an order, spending nearly 40,000 won. As I sat sharing the yogurt ice-cream with friends, one of them began to tell a story that quietly captured my attention. It was about an exhibition by a Singaporean artist named 'Ho Tzu Nyen' that was currently underway at the Art Sonje Center in Korea. I felt a sense of unfamiliarity on two points there. First, I thought Singapore was a country where art was hard to find, yet there was a media artist named Ho Tzu Nyen receiving global attention from Singapore. And the second point of unfamiliarity was that this exhibition was being held in collaboration with the 'Singapore Art Museum'. Not the 'National Gallery,' but where on earth was this 'Singapore Art Museum'?
Later, after returning to Singapore and feeling exhausted from work and daily life, needing a recharge as usual, I decided to visit that 'Singapore Art Museum'. Perhaps it was because I hadn’t expected much—but in the end, I was pleasantly surprised. In a country as small and crowded as this, we find ourselves quietly scrambling to nourish what little artistic hunger we each carry. So for every ybp out there still longing for something to feel, here begins my review of the Singapore Art Museum.
1. About the Singapore Art Museum:
To borrow from its own website, the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) stands as Singapore's first art museum, dedicated to showcasing contemporary art from a Southeast Asian perspective.
There are, however, a few rather significant issues to consider about this museum. Objectively, its location is quite unconventional. It's situated amidst cargo containers, on the opposite side of VivoCity from HarbourFront MRT – a setting that, I must admit, felt surprisingly trendy in its own way. Its accessibility is notably limited, to the extent that the museum even operates its own shuttle service. Subjectively, I also sensed a distinct lack of promotion for the museum itself. Within my admittedly small expat network, no one I asked seemed aware of its existence.
The reason these two points felt like 'issues' was simply because the museum itself genuinely captured my heart.
The Singapore Art Museum isn’t just a single institution—it shares its space with a number of independent galleries tucked into the same grounds. Among these, you'll find, for example, the Whitestone Gallery, which has branches in Tokyo and Seoul as well. This unique synergy, allowing visitors to appreciate not only the museum's own exhibitions but also the distinctive collections of various private galleries all in one place, stands as a truly significant advantage of the Singapore Art Museum. Moreover, the exterior, repurposed from a former cargo warehouse, and the functioning cargo elevators that traverse the building, offer an added bonus: a subtle sense of hipness rarely found elsewhere in Singapore.
2. Exhibitions:
At that moment, the Singapore Art Museum's own exhibition featured the work of Olafur Eliasson. Eliasson, a Danish artist, engages audiences through his installation art, prompting reflection on themes concerning nature, humanity, and environmental issues. It was my first time encountering the artist’s work, but I’ve since learned that they’re gaining recognition on a global scale. It was definitely worth stepping in, especially at an affordable 20 SGD per adult, to experience how light, form, water, and moving image come together in a quiet but pointed exploration of their ideas. To offer a glimpse into the exhibition, I've included a few pictures below.
Meanwhile, on the 5th floor of the Singapore Art Museum, the Whitestone Gallery was hosting an exhibition spotlighting seven contemporary Chinese artists. Chinese contemporary art was, for me, personally an unfamiliar subject, which made the exhibition all the more intriguing to explore. The admission for this exhibition was 16 SGD.
Several other independent galleries on site also feature rotating exhibitions, most of which are free to explore—making it well worth wandering through while you're there. As for me, a proud representative of ybp, I naturally refrained from asking about the prices.
©Olafur Eliasson <Your Curious Journey> | Singapore Art Museum
©Olafur Eliasson <Your Curious Journey> | Singapore Art Museum
©White Stone Gallery Singapore