With the rise of social media comes the proliferation of various art styles, schools, genres, and movements around the world. It is no longer a wonder for a Westerner to create various street paintings and art installations in the East, nor is it a surprise for an Easterner to come up with art works that do not conform to stereotypical Eastern form.
This is especially evident in Singapore.
Having spent a couple of weeks commuting to various sites and attractions I was able to see the various art styles that have pockmarked Singapore. I must admit that with the limited time and resources I can only show you a portion of the enormity that is art in Singapore.
When I arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 4, the first thing that drew my eyes were these hanging mobiles that seem to dance in the air, as delicate Degas’ ballerinas pirouetting on piano strings. The 96-element art installation is made by ART+COM of Germany, but the mesmerizing minimalist concept reflects an Asian tradition that Singapore projects.
It was definitely a light but warm welcome — kind of like having walked through a storm (of work) and coming into a receiving room, having one’s hat and coats and umbrella taken off, and in return given tea and warm towel by a pleasant valet.
This, of course, is but only a glimpse of what was to come. My first stop in my Singapore art journey was Ode to Art.
Normally, an artist or an art enthusiast would go to the National Museum and the National Gallery right away — but such was not my case. A week before I left for Singapore I was scouting already for places to visit — spots where I knew my artist spirit would take me.
Ode to Art drew my wayward soul — their displays were a mix of East and West, of tradition and experimentation, of ancient sages and wild druids. I have always been seeking to improve my style — to marry what is “straightlaced” and what is “crazy,” to mingle what is “well-defined” and what is “minimalist,” to craft together what is “sophisticatedly mature” and what is “curiously childish.”
I found answers in their Gallery. It took me a while — wondrous and growth-inducing things in life often take some time to digest, and such was my case.
Lee Sangsoo’s sculptures, for example, was a fusion of the heart of a child and the delicate craftsmanship of an adult’s. Looking at his Three Birds, A Cow With A Horn, and A Giraffe With a Tree on Its Back is like getting pulled back to childhood — an artistic reminder for us artists to always have the heart of a child, to see the world with wonder and freshness. The smooth minimalism of his sculptures screamed of the East, but the childish caricature and squiggly detail prints reminds us of the intricacies of the West.
I stood staring awestruck at Ren Zhen Yu’s painting of Lee Kuan Yew — here was a man that defined Singapore, painted in traditional oil paint, and yet the mix of colors was so contemporary and the brush strokes was no dainty Eastern artwork — yet still, the image popped out that no photograph could give it any justice the painting deserves.
Then there was Lim Tze Peng’s unorthodox mix of traditional calligraphy and ink painting, mixed together to form an artwork that screams “This is Singapore — this is what once was, but this still screams true today in our hearts!”
I have seen ink paintings before among the Japanese and the Chinese. I have also seen calligraphy as a stand-alone artwork, as well as Japanese and Chinese paintings with calligraphic description as a “side dish.” Lim Tze Peng’s work, however, was a first for me to see calligraphy being pulled center stage and treated as a painting in itself — as if every character has been reconfigured to become a stage actor that is the subject of a portrait.
It is sad that I am not well-versed with Chinese calligraphy to be able to interpret characters, but I could tell from the strokes that they were meant to present each element of a scenery being unfolded. Calligraphy had that power, but his was a multitude of characters that was meant to create a landscape.
There were other artworks in Ode to Art that up until now I am still digesting, but the point is I had just taken the first two steps — the airport and Ode to Art Gallery — in my exploration of Singapore.
A few steps away is the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), Southeast Asia’s seat of contemporary art. The Imaginarium: Into the Space of Time was like getting a lecture from Einstein, Hawking, and other scholars of space, time, and everything in between — except that this time it is in art, and more. What lay before me were no longer numbers but memories, ideas, decisions, images — things so crucial to us humans that we take them for granted because of our daily struggle to be in the rat race.
Art does not limit in these areas. When I went around I saw traces of art — a wall art here, a street art there, a sculpture in the middle of the park, monuments by the river, statues (which tempt you to ride, but you have to stay) in the zoo. Even the buildings themselves do not just stand like boxes — we all know how Marina Bay Sands looks like.
Yet there is also a hint of a sad truth — there are Singaporean artists, but they are not enough. Ode To Art, for example, had multiple artworks belonging to artists around the world, but it was only Lim Tze Peng I recognized as a true blue Singaporean. Aside from Singaporean Lee Mei Ling, a lot of exhibiting artists in SAM are from various parts of the world. Even Petal Clouds of Changi are German-designed.
Does this mean that Singapore lacks artists or creativity? Not so. It only means that Singapore, being a hub of various peoples from different continents from around the world because it is a port city and a country ahead in economics, technology, and the like, is also a melting pot of artists. But because Singapore has to define itself as a Nation, their artworks have to reflect the fusion of various cultures and various generations that is Singapore throughout the ages.
One thing is for sure — so many artworks here and there in Singapore, one trip is not enough — and a single blog entry — is definitely not enough.
Cha Onineza 
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