Valentine Willie Fine Art Singapore is pleased to present Imagine Malaysia the theme for this year’s annual Singapore Survey exhibition. The handing over of the Malayan Railway Station in July 2011 will be more than a symbolic resolution of a thorny issue, more importantly, it marks the potential for a new beginning in the relationship between the people of Malaysia and Singapore. The histories of these two countries, once intertwined under one Federation, but now in competitive parallel with one another has been marked with both political contention and shared affections of multi-cultural race, religion and culture. Valentine Willie Fine Art Singapore, takes the railway handover as a starting point to task Singaporean artists to imagine Malaysia and reflect upon their closest geographical neighbour.
Through humour, irony, poetics and critique a selection of artists across generations will interpret not only their perspectives, as Singaporeans, on Malaysia, but also the blurred boundaries between the two nations. As different sides of what could be said to be the same coin, the possibilities for both Singapore and Malaysia are limitless. By purposefully choosing to begin with a spirit of hope, artists are then encouraged to envision work that looks back at the past to configure a multi-faceted future across diverse media such as painting, sculpture, photography, video, and installation.
Perhaps, one could even imagine a future where Singaporeans have their own houses in Johor Baru and take the MRT to work whilst their children use their ezilink cards to attend class in NUS or SMU.
Participating Artists:
Alan Oei : Alecia Neo : Ang Song Nian : Cheo Chai-Hiang : Chun Kaifeng
Chun Kaiqun : Genevieve Chua : Green Zeng : Heman Chong : Jason Wee
Jeremy Hiah : Jimmy Ong : Lee Wen : Loo Zihan : Michael Lee
Sean Lee : Sherman Ong : Vincent Leow : Zai Kuning : Zhao Renhui
About Singapore Survey:
Since its inception 3 years ago, the Singapore Survey has been a platform to expose and promote the diverse work of Singaporean artists across generations, active at the moment. Conceptualised by Mr Valentine Willie, the exhibition explores the different facets of the country’s identity through the juxtaposition of various themes and nationalistic ideals. The provocation of these necessary conversations regarding the past, present and future of this small island, allow audiences to question their own views on the history and development of the nation.
