Six artists from the Philippines and Singapore will showcase their recent works in “Display” which celebrates contemporary art from these two countries at The Podium’s second floor lounge from Aug. 3 to 12.
This joint exhibit is a project of the Embassy of Singapore, The Podium, Finale Art File, in cooperation with Smart Communications.
The exhibit features a range of contemporary works in painting, videography, photography and installation. Curated by Gerry Tan, the exhibit highlights the works of three young Singaporean artists Claire Lim Sheau Shih, Ho Tzu Nyen, and Lim Shing Ee; as well as those of their Filipino counterparts Billy Atienza, Gary-Ross Pastrana and MM Yu.
Significantly, the mall serves as the locus of the works in the exhibition. The mall — and its forerunner the arcade — symbolize “the unconscious of the dreaming collective,” and in the words of Prof. Patrick Florex” an expanse of fantasies in the context of the (trans) local economy and the global circulation of possessions.”
These promising talents bring forward a sense of boldness to a range of contemporary works.
Ho Tzu Nyen, who has exhibited his works in major galleries in Singapore, Bangkok and Melbourne, works with manual and digital technology. The outcome is what Prof. Flores calls “pret a porter designer abstract paintings.”
Lim Shing Ee holds a masters of fine arts degree from the Musashino Art University in Tokyo Japan. Her works conjure a floating world of “flattened shadows, microorganisms, expansive architectural cityscapes, and galleries.”
Claire Lim Sheau Shih utilizes images of toys and animals as she “reflects on violence” in her provocative mixed media works. She is working on her masters in visual arts degree at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.
The three Filipino artists likewise bring this freshness and vibrancy to their works.
Gary-Ross Pastrana took his fine arts course at the University of the Philippines, where he received the Dominador Castañeda Awards for Best Thesis. His large paintings are based on existing logos, graphic designs, signages, and decoration.
MM Yu took photographs of the mall’s interiors and exteriors, juxtaposing them in a gridlock of images. Her photographs are complemented by a video of mallgoers as they walk through an appliance store, posing and preening.
Billy Atienza’s more elaborate contribution to the show is composed of photographic prints, oil paintings, a TV monitor and a surveillance camera. His aim is to catch the spectator regarding his work, placing the viewer in a different context.
