0. INTRODUCTION

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"Siapa Nama Kamu?" means "What is your name?" The inaugural exhibition of the DBS Singapore Gallery poses this question, inviting visitors to consider how art may relate to issues of self and community, and what it means to look at Singapore through its art.

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1. TOUR EXPERIENCE

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The DBS Gallery Highlights tour invites attendees to go through 3 sectioned galleries separated by its eras. Featuring landscapes and sightings of Singapore as it evolves from a fishing village, to its colonization, the second world war and its independence as a country and its subsequent modernization. 

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The intention of these art pieces shown also evolved with time, where most 1st generation Singaporean artists such as Liu Kang and Chen Wen Hsi sought out to portray and record the culture of the people found in their landscapes in Singapore and other lands like Bali, mostly in a positive light.

 

2nd generation Singaporean artists like Koeh Sia Yong and Chua Mia Tee primarily focused on the changing social and political changes happening in a post-war Singaporean community, most of which involved the working class and the poorer citizens of the community.

 

At the turn of the 20th to 21st century, contemporary art began to dominate the visual arts scene in the 1980s to the 1990s where installation and performance art began to gain traction, artists like M Faizal Fadil, Teo Eng Seng and Lee Wen are just some of the many artists to introduce contemporary art into Singapore.

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Upon walking through the different eras of artworks from the early to late 19th century, I was able to witness a sense of metamorphosis in how these artworks transformed, not only in their execution, but their intention. 

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1.1 Colonialism

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The beginnings of modern art in Singapore can be traced back to the 19th century, during its colonization and transformation into modernity. Paintings from this era contain the earliest visual representations of Temasek during its early years of colonization, from a recounting of G.D. Coleman's encounter with a Malayan tiger, to a panoramic view of the island's harbor as a trading port.

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1.2 1st Generation

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The first generation of Singaporean artists started with names like Lim Hak Tai, founder and first principle of the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA), Liu Kang, Chen Wen Hsi and Cheong Soo Pieng.

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The word 'Nanyang' or South Seas was a term used originally by Chinese maritime traders to refer to the South-East Asian region that was located South of China. Lim Hak Tai saw it differently however. The word was not just a geographical reference, but a movement that reflected the realities of its locale, or Nanyang art. Visual artists reworked Western conventions and practices to develop a local identity in their art. Local landscapes, peoples and cultural practice became their subject matter and many materials and techniques that were native to these places were infused into their art-making.

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The Nanyang art movement remained evident throughout the 1950s and 60s. This is evident from the trip made by Chen Chong Swee, Chen Wen Hsi, Cheong Soo Pieng and Liu Kang to Bali in 1952, which inspired new subject matter and approaches to their works.

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1.3 2nd Generation

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Surveying the period between the 1950s to 70s, was the emergence of Social Realism in the aftermath of World War II. A movement that sought to reflect that socio-political times of Singapore and the life of its citizens, Social Realism advocated a realist-style of painting with its subjects creating works that commented on social issues. Artists focused on trying to depict the struggles of the working class and interacted with workers to understand their problems.

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At the same time, anti-colonist sentiments were rising within the people after WWII and movements that advocated against colonialism for independence gained popularity. As Singapore gradually moved towards independence, questions of identity and were raised.

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National Language Class by Chua Mia Tee depicts a group of students learning Bahasa Melayu from a teacher, an effort by the Ministry of Culture to promote use of the national language. Sentences that can be spotted on the blackboard read, "Siapa nama kamu?" (What is your name?) and "Di mana awak tinggal?" (Where do you live?). These questions suggest a growing consciousness of national identity amongst Singaporeans at the time, at the same time, questioning the viewer about their sense of cultural identity and ethnicity. The drive to learn the Malay language, considered as a symbol of anti-colonial resistance, can be inferred from the standing student attending class despite being in mourning, as indicated by the blue cloth on his left sleeve.

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1.3.1 Abstraction

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As modern art developed in the local and international scene during the 70s, the physical form, composition and materials used in the making of an artwork became the focus. Artists sought to depict the modern industrialized age in a completely different way. Enter abstract art, which gained popularity when a younger generation of artists called for a fresh reflection of Singapore's modernization instead of realism.

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1.4 3rd Generation

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Approaches to art has began to shift during the 1980s to 2000s as what once was a focus on the socio-political climate has turned into the burning question of what is and could be art. Traditional ideas of modernist painting and sculpture were exchanged for alternative methods of practicing art. Radical performances, scavenged materials, installation and video were just some examples of this new development in art. 

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Having purchased these flasks from the Sungei Road flea market and asserted them as a sculpture. This gesture was a callback to Marcel Duchamp's Readymade concept. This provoked massive debates about the difference between artworks and non-art objects, and is it art?

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2. CONCLUSION

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This is one of the most educational tours that I had the pleasure of attending. It touched on Singapore's art history and through that, taught me more about Singapore that I hadn't known before such as its national language. While similar in nature to the UOB Gallery, I felt more connected to the works of the DBS Gallery because it addressed the history, identity and heritage of Singapore. It made me question my knowledge about my roots in Singapore and my identity.

 

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