Recipient of the Curator Open Call 2023
A Reservoir of Time
Curated by Goh Chun Aik
Featuring artworks by Lewis Choo, Ge Xiaocong, Goh Chun Aik, Hong Shu-ying, and Ivan Ong
Time as we understand is a concept that helps us comprehend the world, with reference to a sequence of events through past, present, and future. The notion of timestream draws upon the parallels between our perception of ‘time’ and the nature of a ‘stream’ – both continually moving forward and never stops.
What if there is a space where this stream flows into and accumulates into a reservoir? A reservoir of time. A space with tributaries from across different points of the timestream flowing in at different rates, where the past, present, and future exist simultaneously.
Manifested as a site that exists across the continuum of time, artists Lewis Choo, Ge Xiaocong, Goh Chun Aik, Hong Shu-ying, and Ivan Ong bring together their individual understanding of time through their artworks – seemingly each representing a different tributary – creating encounters that strive to influence our experience of time. The images and objects presented suggest a collection of memories, traces of activity, possibilities from across the time-space and even alternative timelines; resulting in an overlapping of timelines that prompts us to re-examine our perception of time.
Conceptualised as an exploration into our relationship with time through an artistic lens, the exhibition and its artworks strive to offer opportunities for us to consider alternative ways of thinking about time.
Chun Aik was mentored by Dr Bridget Tracy Tan as part of Curator Open Call.
Exhibition Information
About the Curator
Goh Chun Aik‘s practice situates itself within the overlapping of individual and shared realities. He is interested in often-overlooked moments and the different ways we look at things. Goh strives to materialise individual realities into something that can be perceived and experienced in our shared reality, typically in the form of images and texts, and at times through collaborations and exhibition-making. He believes that when our worlds overlap, many beautiful things can happen.
About the Artists
Lewis Choo Li Wei is a sculptor whose practice is focused on hyperlocal experiences that are a precipitation of careful introspection in his immediate day-to-day environment. Often working with traditional techniques like woodblock printing, Choo’s practice references Chinese and Japanese folklore extensively in the attempt to question the contemporary perspective toward societal issues. His artworks introduce a whimsical reinterpretation of traditional ideals, offering a unique twist that reflects our localised environment.
Ge Xiaocong‘s practice examines objects and materials, unravelling their embedded narratives, tensions, and cultural significance. She explores materials to expose societal influences and their expressive capabilities. Drawing inspiration from disciplines like archaeology and forensic investigation, she views objects and traces as windows into the zeitgeist. She hopes to tease out dialogues between material and form, driven by the inherent qualities that reflect our connection to the world.
Hong Shu-ying is an artist working with metaphors she finds in sights, sounds and spaces familiar to her. Informed by her lived experiences and growing up in Singapore, she enjoys a process-led method of working that often culminates into books or an ensemble of prints and videos. Her recent projects delve into informal archives that are either communal, personal, or a combination of both. She combines and collages found images and imageries as a way to highlight patterns and observations.
Ivan Ong is a Singaporean artist, who documents his relationship with the everyday. His diaristic practice explores ideas of home and existence in the commute, musing, and the mundane. He started out by photographing corridor spaces and objects that contain signature traces of households. Moving forward, he is progressively taking his practice outward to illuminate interactions and installations within the city. In doing so, he locates the serendipitous amidst reality.
About the Mentor
Dr Bridget Tracy Tan is Director for the Art Galleries and the Institute of Southeast Asian Arts at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts. Formerly a curator at the Singapore Art Museum (now National Gallery Singapore), she oversees the internal and external programming for 3 galleries located on campus. Her work at NAFA includes initiating practice led research into Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art across the disciplines in seminars and workshops for students and lecturers alike. She has written and edited publications on art as well as catalogues and monographs for artists alongside exhibition projects. She is currently also Academic Advisor for Southeast Asian Arts at NAFA.
She graduated with a Master of Arts, obtaining First Class Honours in Art History from the University of Glasgow in Scotland. Her PhD was obtained from Chelsea College of Art, University of the Arts London, in practice-led research as a curator and critical art historian. The thesis critically explored Southeast Asian museology and Southeast Asian curating in contemporary paradigms that extend into global platforms, specifically, biennales.