Future Perfect presents the first solo exhibition in Singapore by mercurial installation artist, Arin Rungjang, fresh from the success of his beguiling Thai pavilion at this year’s Venice Biennale. As the Southeast Asian art world descends on Singapore, one of the region’s leading lights puts a new spin on his acclaimed Venice project, revealing the complex, secret history of the region’s cuisines.

Arin’s installations revisit pivotal moments in Thai history, exploring the layers of detail, accident and innuendo that congeal to form the story of a nation. Golden Teardrop is based on the true story of a traditional Thai egg-yolk dessert, adapted from a recipe that originated with Portuguese nuns in the 15th century. This delicacy was introduced to the Siamese court at Ayutthaya in the 17th century by Maria Guyomar de Pinha, a woman of Japanese, Portuguese and Bengali descent, and the wife of Constantine Phaulkon, the Greek counselor to Siam’s King Narai.

The extraordinary global journey of this poetic form spans five centuries of trade and war, intrigue and espionage, personal tragedies and clashes of civilisation. Moving deftly between political, cultural and individual narratives, Arin’s piece has special resonance in Singapore, whose culinary culture is a product of the same global, mercantile history. Golden Teardrop shows how the fates of people and things, and of nations, are shaped by complex, transnational chains of action, agency and chance.

For his first Asian solo show outside of Thailand, Arin will present the digital video component of Golden Teardrop, along with a new sculptural element conceived specially for Future Perfect. The exhibition will be launched alongside the 4th Singapore Biennale and the long-awaited opening of the Centre for Contemporary Art at Gillman Barracks. A third iteration of Arin’s project will be displayed concurrently as part of the Asian Art Biennale in Taichung, Taiwan.

Image: © Arin Rungjang, Future Perfect