A rich collection of artists from around the globe have come together in order to present a highly entertaining, thoughtful, and diverse collection of art through the exhibit “Time of Others,” which will be on display at the Singapore Art Museum through the end of February.
A collection curated through the cooperation of a handful of art institutes from around Asia and Oceania, this exhibition is an exploration of how various cultures are shaped though both colonialism and globalization. The wide variety of artist mediums is one of the most exciting part of this exhibition, featuring everything from videos to sculpture to installations of light and calendars.
The director of the Singapore Art Museum said that the success of the exhibit is a testament to just how closely connected art is throughout the world.
One piece of art could probably be called the simplest — but most meaningful — is a single page of a letter from the 19th century from a son to his father prior to his execution. The father traced the letter word for word, preserving both the message and the penmanship of the original letter. That the piece would appear in an art exhibit is interesting, but it plays into the themes of familial relationships that the artist who chose to present it likes to examine.
Another piece on exhibit in the show is a video of an artist who chose to spend time with migrant workers picking berries. The artist communicated with the curator of the show the weight of the berries picked in a single day, and it was up to the curator to match the weight with another item. For this incarnation of the exhibit, the curator chose to represent the weight of berries picked with newspapers examining the rights of such workers.
Yet another interesting part of “Time of Others” is a large installation of futuristic calendar pages. More than a thousand pictures make up the installation, all depicting slow times at normally packed Singaporean landmarks. Singapore’s dense population often make it hard to find deserted areas, but the artist managed to do it, photographing and capturing each suddenly quiet place. The end result of all of these deserted locales presented together can be viewed as something of a strange, cautionary future without people.
Art can be so many different things to different people. Expressing yourself has never been easier — nearly anything can become art as long as you have the knowledge and passion to back it up. Explore your own creative side by signing up for an art class today. SGArtClass.com is a wonderful way to see just what art has to offer you. Browse our lists of art classes available, knowing that our art teachers are vetted and highly knowledgable. They’ll work around your schedule and your artistic goals to get you to where you’d like to be in your creative journey.
For more on the art show, go to http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/singapore-art-museums-latest-show-time-of-others.