More than fifty artists are expected to take part in the Singapore Biennale, which will be on display in the country from this month through February 2017. However, the number of artists was almost one less due to a series of unfortunate events that ended up ironically reflecting one of the many sub-themes of the biennale.
The installation artwork of a Vietnamese artist became stranded at sea during the shipping process for two weeks because the company responsible for the shipping suddenly fell into financial hardships. More than one hundred ships belonging to the South Korean company were stranded around the world, many of them unable or unwilling to dock because of fears they would be seized to help recoup some of the company’s losses. The art installation was one of the victims of the turmoil that surrounded this issue, particularly since the Singapore Art Museum had budgeted precious exhibit space for it and was waiting to set it up.
While administrators and officials at the Singapore Art Museum scrambled to come up with alternatives and backup plans in the case that the installation didn’t make it in time for the biennale, the shipping company worked with other intermediaries to offload products on its ships to the intended recipients. After two weeks in limbo, the Vietnamese art installation was delivered to the Singapore Art Museum, where officials were relieved to find that the delicate works didn’t suffer during the ordeal on the open water.
The piece in question is a collection of sculptures that assemble to look like a house, and the artist and other creative minds worked for two years to carve the intricate stories and culturally significant designs into jackfruit wood. The piece itself is called “Dislocate,” calling to mind themes of belonging and community whether a person stays in the same place they were born or moves across the world, taking their culture with them to try and fit in or pepper a new place with a new understanding. That is why it is so ironic that the installation was adrift at sea for so long — many people, including immigrants, must also often drift before they find the places they can now call home.
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To read more about the art piece stuck in transit and other works to be featured in the Singapore Biennale, go to http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/stranded-artwork-arrives-in-time-for-biennale.
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