A Singaporean contemporary artist will allow his art exhibit to continue to be shown in the Singapore Biennale despite a dramatic blood oath display, where he stated that he would never allow his work to be shown in the country again.
The blood oath incident stemmed from the artist not being allowed to put on the performance portion of his exhibit. This performance would have included the artist being pierced by six metal hooks on his back and walking through the streets of a Singaporean neighborhood. Attached to the hooks would be representations of temples and other places of worship depicted in ice sculptures. Authorities limited that performance because they were afraid it would offend religious viewers — the artist said that no religious offense was intended, and the ice sculptures were generic. The artist himself is well known for grueling, often hard to watch performances.
However, the artist’s other works will still be on display at the Singapore Biennale. After meeting with the curatorial team of the biennale, he issued a statement saying that his blood oath protest was more about the freedom of artistic expression in Singapore itself than at the biennale, and that he respected the curatorial team’s process. Many officials on the curatorial team have had the unenviable task of balancing loud artistic voices with the diverse ages and beliefs of people viewing the art.
While the artist will not be performing for his exhibit — or giving further interviews or statements on the subject — his art exhibit, which did not originally include any performance elements, will still be seen. The artist encouraged a further dialogue about controversial art and performance art in the country and beyond, and the necessity of discussion over the reality of smothering unique voices that challenge the status quo. The artist was respectful when making this statement, saying how essential it was to maintain integrity even among controversy. Spokespeople for the biennale curatorial team agreed, citing contemporary art’s important place in fostering cultural growth and conversations about difficult topics.
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Read more about the proposed performance art and subsequent incident by visiting http://www.todayonline.com/singapore-biennale-artist-abandons-blood-oath.
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