Singapore Biennale 2006
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Thursday, October 07, 2004
MY SISTERS, THEIR STORIES
A PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITION BY
LANCE LEE
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO THE OPENING OF THE EXHIBITION ON
7TH OCTOBER 2004 THURSDAY 7PM
UTTERLY ART EXHIBITION SPACE
208 SOUTH BRIDGE ROAD #02-01 SINGAPORE 058757
T: 65 6226 2605 / E: UTTERLYART@PACIFIC.NET.SG
(MON-SAT: 1130AM-8PM; SUN:12PM-530PM)
THIS EXHIBITION RUNS THROUGH TO 17TH OCTOBER 2004.
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In the words of Eugene W. Smith, “Humanity is worth more than a picture of humanity that serves no purpose other than exploitation.” Lance adopts Smith’s philosophy in his work. Unlike stereotypical photojournalistic work, especially on transgender topics like this, Lance’s subjectivity brings out the humanism and the emotional complexity in these situations. His photographs are always honest and reverent. In the case of this photo-exhibition entitled My Sisters, Their Stories, the sheer purity of truth in the pictures arose primarily out of Lance’s patience and gentle perseverance, which earned him the friendship of the transsexuals he photographed. Lance never manipulated the subjects, but allowed them to be free to be whomever they wished to portray. He knew that sooner or later, their true selves would be revealed. For the trust and confidence they had in Lance, he too was free to photograph them as they were, and are.
Here are portraits, depicting the lives of transsexuals, but they are more than mere documentation of their “alleged” lives, as we might have imagined. Here are images that are momentous and yet, executed with remarkable control. These portraits reduce life into single moments, to the very pulses of the heart. Frozen in time they might be, but like eager children, the pictures want to reach out, to share their thoughts, to invite you to explore with them. So many photojournalistic images require words, or cutlines in conjunction to explain themselves, but Lance’s pictures retain such communicative power that they inspire words to life, instead of vice versa.
However, portraying the moment does not mean indulging in random snap shots. These images are exquisitely composed, retaining their intimacy of the moment as a result of the photographer’s close interaction with the sisters, which stripped the self-consciousness out of close-up shots. Robert Capa, who used to say, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough”, would certainly have approved.
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|SENI Singapore 2004:
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|Opening weekend - Programmes
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|Log on to www.senisingapore.org for the latest
updates!|
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SENI Singapore 2004: Art and the Contemporary is a
visual arts festival organised by the National Arts
Council, the Singapore Art Museum of National Heritage
Board, and partners such as Multimedia Art Asia
Pacific (MAAP) and Theatreworks, with Artistic
Director, Professor Chua Beng Huat (Department of
Sociology and the Asia Research Institute of the
National University of Singapore). The exhibition
focuses on contemporary art practices of South East
Asia and Asia, and involves over 90 artists from 14
countries. Artworks presented in SENI are accessible
at several locations across Singapore, creating a wide
platform for cultural discussion.
SENI is an affirmation of the new emerging
'contemporary', fostering inter-cultural
engagements and joint artistic investigations.
Exhibition period: 1 Oct - 28 Nov 04.
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what's happening: 2 October 2004, Saturday @ SAM ================================================
+Place/Memory: Artists Investigating Monuments (Panel
discussion)+Initiated by The Artists Village
(Singapore)
An introduction to and a panel discussion on AIM II, a
series of investigations by artists into sites and
monuments in Singapore, their evolving social
functions, and shifts in meanings. The introduction
Will also include a series of video screenings and
performance documentation by members of Artists
Village developed for the event.
Panel discussants: Juliana Yasin & kAI Lam (The
Artists Village - Singapore), Rene Gabri (16 Beaver -
New York), Akram Zaatari (Arab Image Foundation -
Lebanon)
10.00am - 12.30pm. SAM Glass Hall. Free.
+Come Party Mah! (Performance)
+by Spacekraft (Malaysia)
Enough Che Guavara t-shirts! Spacekraft will create a
new and improved ‘marketplace’ of communist
memorabilia. Their friendly ‘uniformed salesman’
will be there to serve you, the consumer, as you
select your purchase.
>From 12.30pm. SAM Lower and Upper Galleries. Free.
+Indonesian Laundry Service (Performance)
+by Taring Padi (Indonesia)
Tired of doing your own laundry? Have your laundry
done for free! Leave your dirty clothes with Taring
Padi’s members to wash, and pick up your
fresh clean clothes or have them delivered on a later
date. This performance is the interactive component of
their installation for SENI and in exchange, the
artists will give you a printed T-shirt containing
information on the conditions of women migrant workers
abroad.
>From 1.00pm. SAM Lower and Upper Galleries. Free.
+She Left Without A Word (Performance)
+by Patricia Perez Eustaquio (Big Sky Mind -
Philippines)
Working with her installation, Patricia begins a
performance of embroidering words, speaking out loud
in the usually quieter gallery environment. Will she
be able to finish what she has to say?
1.00pm - 2.00pm. SAM Upper Gallery. Free.
+PART I: Documents Of History And Place (Video
Screening)
Catch these very special screenings by participating
artists from 16 Beaver Group and Fondation Arabepour
L’Image. These videos are artistic journeys through
Bethlehem, Armenia and Lebanon, exploring more than
just landscapes. This is also a chance to get up close
and personal and hear from the artists as they provide commentaries to their work. Limited seating available so come early to grab your spot!
2.00pm - 5.00pm. SAM Gallery 16. Free.
+Having Beers With Moving Sculptures (Performance)
+by Iwan Wijono (The Artists Village - Indonesia)
Iwan will be presenting a performance centering on the ideologies of Artists Investigating Monuments (AIM), The Artists Village's contribution to SENI. This will be followed by the collaborative performance & installation, 'Raffles In The Act' by kAI Lam, Jeremy Hiah & Juliana Yasin (The Artists Village - Singapore).
5.30pm. SAM Upper Gallery. Free.
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what's happening: 3 October 2004, Sunday @ SAM ==============================================
+Counter-Cartography: Art Collectives As MNCs (Panel
discussion)
+Initiated by 16 Beaver Group (New York)
16 Beaver Group is a NY-based collective made up of
artists of diverse origins including India, Iran,
Israel and Palestine. The group embarked on a project
involving fictional mergers between artist groups
eventually forming a single collective. This will form
the basis of the discussion as artists share responses
and perspectives.
Panel discussants: Ayreen Anastas, & Rene Gabri (16
Beaver – New York), Katya Guerrero (Big Sky Mind - Philippines), Charlene Rajendran (CASA Documentation Centre India/Singapore), Chow I-Shin (sciSKEW -
Singapore/Shanghai)
10.00am - 12.30pm.The Cube, SAM. Free.
+Come Party Mah! (Performance) by Spacekraft
(Malaysia) From 12.30pm. SAM Lower and Upper
Galleries. Free.
+She Left Without A Word (Performance) by Patricia
Perez Eustaquio (Big Sky Mind - Philippines)
1.00pm - 2.00pm. SAM Upper Gallery. Free.
+Indonesian Laundry Service (Performance) by Taring
Padi (Indonesia)
>From 1.00pm. SAM Lower and Upper Galleries. Free.
+Part II: Home Videos (Video Screening)
This is the second instalment of special video
screenings with the artists on hand to provide
commentaries. Videos are shown along the theme of
‘home’ and include documentation of a street protest
as well as the story of a filmmaker who is faced with
dilemmas that must all be resolved by his birthday
that year. Watch these videos and talk to the artists
about them.
Limited seating available so come early to grab your
spot!
2.00pm - 4.30pm. The Cube, SAM. Free.
+Thai Long Drum Party! (Performance & event)
+Co-presented by SAM & Royal Thai Embassy
In connection with Michael Shaowanasai’s (Project 304
- Thailand)
Video installation that examines the lives &
identities of the Thai community here, this
community-based event will showcase the Thai long drum
ensemble
made up of Thais who live and work here. Get a glimpse
of the cultural life of the local Thais, then have
your fill from a sumptuous spread of Thai refreshments
by courtesy of the Royal Thai Embassy.
5.30pm. SAM Courtyards. Free
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Happening: Elsewhere...
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+Iwan Wijono (Artist talk)
+The Artists Village - Singapore
Iwan will talk about his artistic practice and his
involvement with the performance art collective, ‘PerformanceKlub’ , in Yogjakarta, Indonesia. This will be followed by an AIM II party.
7.00pm. P-10 (No. 10 Perumal Road)
-All programmes are on a first-come-first-served
basis: free unless otherwise stated.
-Admission charges to the exhibition apply for other
times.
-The Singapore Art Museum is located at 71 Bras Basah
Rd Singapore 189555.
-For more information, log on to www.senisingapore.org
or call 63323222.
Landing Space
Artfields’ Workshops and Such
Children’s Art Camp
– Poetry, Painting and Clay
Sunday, 3 October 2004
3.00pm-5.00pm
$20 per child
Suitable for children aged 3-15
Gone Fishing Café
15 Chu Lin Road
Singapore 669907
At Artfields’ Children’s Art Camp, artist Twardzik Ching Chor Leng and poet-artist Peng-Ean Khoo will lead the participating children in an afternoon workshop of poetry, painting and clay. Selected poems suitable for children (e.g. Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky) will be read. Children will paint, and design and construct their own unique 3-D clay works in response to these poems. Older children will also be facilitated to write a short piece of creative writing to accompany their paintings and clay works.
The workshop is suitable for children aged 3-15. Children aged 3-5 must be accompanied by an adult. Fee includes instruction and materials. To register, phone 6762-9901 or fax 6762-7336 or email kenny@gonefishing.com.sg
About Facilitators
Twardzik Ching Chor Leng has been practising Installation art and Land art for more than 10 years. She holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree from University of Regina, Canada, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Ceramics and a Diploma in Ceramic Arts from Alberta College of Art and Design, Canada. She also lectures at the LaSalle-SIA College of the Arts. Peng-Ean Khoo is the poet-artist of “A Penguin Pillowcase: contemporary ink poetry”. Her art and poetry has been published and exhibited in the Greater Boston area, including the Warwick Museum of Art. She is a graduate of Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge, UK.
About Artfields
Artfields (June 2004 – June 2005) is a year-long programme to explore art in a non-art space and to bring contemporary art to the community through a series of art installations and art education programmes to facilitate art exploration, creation and learning. Artfields is produced by Landing Space, an artist collective, in collaboration with Gone Fishing café. “Through Artfields, we hope to further breakdown the separation between art and life by placing art in a living space where neither dominates the other. Instead there will be a true interplay of art and life; the café’s activity becomes part of the art and vice versa. Once you enter Artfields, you will get contemporary art.”
Email: tyep pengean and followed by@ yahoo.com
Name: Khoo Peng Ean
Url: http://www.landingspace.homestead.com/Artfields.html
Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery invites you to the exhibition, "The Autumn Collection", on 1 Oct - 18 Oct 2004, 11:00 am - 7:00 pm.
Cape of Good Hope Art Gallery
140 Hill Street, #01-06 MICA Building
Singapore 179369
Tel : 65 6733-3822
Fax : 65 6733-9311
Website: www.capeofgoodhopeartgallery.com
Mon - Fri: 11am_7pm
Sat - Sun&Ph: 12pm_6pm
You're cordially invited to
Curator Talk by Lawrence Tio
Topic:
Investigation-documentary-concerns-development-process-approach-presentation-discussion
Date: 15 Oct 2004, Fri
Time: 1.30 – 3pm
Venue: #02-08, Seminar Room
NAFA1, HQ & SVA Building
Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts
80 Bencoolen Street
Singapore 189655
Admission: Free
Synopsis
In contemporary art, ‘process of making’ is a
significant but often neglected aspect of the final
work especially by non-privileged viewers. This seems
more evident in Singapore because (among other
reasons) process wasn’t given much emphasis through presentations in the gallery space or discussions with the audience. Such factors contribute to the lack of understanding of contemporary art and practice. This talk aims to investigate the importance of process in making art by taking a closer look at the processes and approaches of 5 local contemporary artists employed in creating a site specific spatial artwork for a gallery space - Earl Lu Gallery I as part of the exhibition X-Ray: Spatial Approaches and Processes.
About the Curator
Lawrence Tio is both the Curator of Earl Lu Gallery as
well as a practising contemporary visual artist. Aside
from organising contemporary art exhibitions of high
critical merit, notably Text & Subtext: Contemporary
Art by Women Artists from Asia, which toured
internationally, Lawrence is also a Master of Fine Art candidate in LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts. As an artist, he has actively exhibited both locally and internationally and has received the Jurors’ Choice Award (1998) and an Honourable Mention Award (2002) in the prestigious Philip Morris ASEAN Art Awards.
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