Visual art of Singapore: Difference between revisions

{{Culture of Singapore sidebar}}{{History of art sidebar}}The '''visual art of Singapore''', or '''Singaporean art''', refers to all forms of [[Visual arts|visual art]] in or associated with [[Singapore]] throughout its history and towards the present-day. The history of Singaporean art includes the indigenous artistic traditions of the [[Malay Archipelago]] and the diverse visual practices of itinerant artists and migrants from [[China]], the [[Indian subcontinent]], and [[Europe]].<ref name=":662">{{Cite book |last=Susanto |first=Melinda |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2015 |isbn=9789811405570978-981-14-0557-0 |location=Singapore |pages=30–41 |chapter=Tropical Tapestry}}</ref>

Singaporean art includes the sculptural, [[Textile arts|textile]], and [[Decorative arts|decorative art]] traditions of the [[Malay world]]; [[Portrait|portraitureportrait]]ure, [[Landscape painting|landscapes]], [[sculpture]], [[printmaking]], and [[natural history]] drawings from the country's British colonial period; along with Chinese-influenced [[Nanyang Style|Nanyang style]] paintings, [[Social realism|social realist art]], [[abstract art]], and [[photography]] practices emerging in the post-war period.<ref name=":662" /> Today, it includes the [[contemporary art]] practices of post-independence Singapore, such as [[performance art]], [[conceptual art]], [[installation art]], [[video art]], [[sound art]], and [[new media art]].<ref name=":45452">{{Cite book |last=Toh |first=Charmaine |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century |date=2015 |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |isbn=9789810973841978-981-09-7384-1 |editor-last=Low |editor-first=Sze Wee |page=92 |chapter=Shifting Grounds}}</ref> The emergence of [[Modern art|modern]] Singaporean art, or more specifically, "the emergence of self-aware artistic expression"<ref name=":6" /> is often tied to the rise of art associations, art schools, and exhibitions in the 20th century, though this has since been expanded to include earlier forms of visual representation, such as from Singapore's historical periods.<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2015 |isbn=9789810973520 |editor-last=Low |editor-first=Sze Wee |location=Singapore |pages=8–29 |chapter=Some Introductory Remarks}}</ref><ref name=":022">{{Cite web |date=12 October 2016 |title=T.K. Sabapathy |url=https://www.esplanade.com/offstage/arts/t-k-sabapathy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227025531/https://www.esplanade.com/offstage/arts/t-k-sabapathy |archive-date=27 February 2021 |access-date=27 February 2021 |website=Esplanade Offstage}}</ref>

The emergence of [[Modern art|modern]] Singaporean art, or more specifically, "the emergence of self-aware artistic expression"<ref name=":62" /> is often tied to the rise of art associations, art schools, and exhibitions in the 20th century, though this has since been expanded to include earlier forms of visual representation, such as from Singapore's pre-colonial periods.<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2015 |isbn=978-981-09-7352-0 |editor-last=Low |editor-first=Sze Wee |location=Singapore |pages=8–29 |chapter=Some Introductory Remarks}}</ref><ref name=":022">{{Cite web |date=12 October 2016 |title=T.K. Sabapathy |url=https://www.esplanade.com/offstage/arts/t-k-sabapathy |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227025531/https://www.esplanade.com/offstage/arts/t-k-sabapathy |archive-date=27 February 2021 |access-date=27 February 2021 |website=Esplanade Offstage}}</ref>

Presently, the [[contemporary art]] of Singapore also circulates internationally through art [[Biennale|biennalesbiennale]]s and other major international exhibitions. Contemporary art in Singapore tends to examine themes of "hyper-modernity and the built environment; alienation and changing social mores; [[Postcolonialism|post-colonial]] identities and [[multiculturalism]]."<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal |last=Teh |first=David |date=2017 |title=Insular Visions: notes on video art in Singapore |url=https://www.academia.edu/29987712 |journal=The Japan Foundation Asia Center Art Studies |volume=3 |via=Academia.org |access-date=2021-05-17 |archive-date=2023-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108202307/https://www.academia.edu/29987712 |url-status=live }}</ref> Across these tendencies, "the exploration of [[Performance art|performance]] and the performative body" is a common running thread.<ref name=":12" /> Singapore carries a notable history of [[performance art]], with the government historically having enacted a no-funding rule for that specific art form from 1994 to 2003, following a controversial performance artwork at the [[5th Passage]] art space.<ref name=":23">{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Weng Choy |url=https://www.academia.edu/1330638 |title=Looking at Culture |date=1996 |publisher=Artres Design & Communications |isbn=9810067143981-00-6714-3 |editor-last=Krishnan |editor-first=S.K. Sanjay |location=Singapore |chapter=Chronology of a Controversy |editor-last2=Lee |editor-first2=Weng Choy |editor-last3=Perera |editor-first3=Leon |editor-last4=Yap |editor-first4=Jimmy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608200204/https://www.academia.edu/1330638/Chronology_of_a_Controversy |archive-date=8 June 2020}}</ref><ref name=":52">{{Cite journal |last=Lingham |first=Susie |date=November 2011 |title=Art and Censorship in Singapore: Catch 22? |url=http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/76/ArtAndCensorshipInSingaporeCatch22 |url-status=dead |journal=ArtAsiaPacific |issue=76 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915073253/http://artasiapacific.com/Magazine/76/ArtAndCensorshipInSingaporeCatch22 |archive-date=15 September 2014 |access-date=8 June 2020}}</ref>

Situated in the [[Malay Archipelago]], Singapore is connected to the broader sculptural, textile, and [[Decorative arts|decorative art]] traditions of the [[Malay world]].<ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Susanto |first=Melinda |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2015 |isbn=9789811405570 |location=Singapore |pages=30–41 |chapter=Tropical Tapestry}}</ref>

Another significant artefact is the [[Singapore Stone]], a surviving fragment of a large sandstone slab inscribed with [[Brahmic scripts|Indic script]] that stood at the mouth of the [[Singapore River]], measuring 3 metres in height and width. Believed to date back to at least the 13th century and possibly as early as the 10th or 11th century, the inscription remains [[Decipherment|undeciphered]]. More recent theories suggest that the inscription is either in [[Old Javanese language|Old Javanese]] or in [[Sanskrit]], which suggests the possibility that the island was an extension of the [[Majapahit]] civilisation in the past. About January 1843,<ref>Abdullah bin Abdul Kadir, ''Hikayat Abdullah'', above, at 166 n. 18.</ref> the slab was blown to pieces to widen the passageway at the mouth of the Singapore River to make space for Fort Fullerton and for the quarters of its commander, leaving only fragments of the slab.<ref name="Singapore Infopedia2">{{Cite web |last=Cornelius-Takahama |first=Vernon |date=30 March 2000 |title=The Singapore Stone |url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_43_2005-01-26.html |access-date=16 October 2016 |publisher=Singapore Infopedia, [[National Library, Singapore]] |archive-date=29 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129124851/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_43_2005-01-26.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Forbidden Hill2">{{Cite book |last=Miksic |first=John N. |title=Archaeological Research on the 'Forbidden Hill' of Singapore : Excavations at Fort Canning, 1984 |publisher=[[National Museum of Singapore|National Museum]] |year=1985 |isbn=9971-917-16-5 |location=Singapore |pages=13, 40, 41 |author-link=John N. Miksic}} The information is referred to in {{Cite journal |last=Lee |first=Jack Tsen-Ta |date=September 2004 |title=Treaties, Time Limits and Treasure Trove: The Legal Protection of Cultural Objects in Singapore |journal=Art, Antiquity & Law |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=237 at 239–240 |ssrn=631781}}.</ref>

[[File:Ptolemy_Asia_detail.jpg|right|thumb|Ptolemy, ''Geographia'', VIII. 11th Map of Asia. Sabana given at the tip of the Malay Peninsula which was named as the [[Golden Chersonese|Golden Khersonese]].|204x204px153x153px]]The earliest depictions of ancient Singapore existed predominantly in textual and cartographical forms, with the first possible mention being a 2nd -century [[Common era|CE]] cartographic reference in Greco-Roman astronomer [[Ptolemy]]'s ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geographia]]''. A place called ''Sabana'' or ''Sabara'' was marked on the 11th Map of Asia at the southern tip of the [[Golden Khersonese]] (meaning the [[Malay Peninsula]]) where Singapore may lie.<ref name="golden">{{cite book|author=Paul Wheatley|title=The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500|publisher=[[w:University of Malaya|University of Malaya Press]]|year=1961|location=Kuala Lumpur|pages=151–152|oclc=504030596|author-link=w:Paul Wheatley (geographer)}}</ref>

[[File:Mao_Kun_map_-_Singapore.png|thumb|The [[Mao Kun map]] from [[Wubei Zhi]] which is based on the early 15th century maps of [[Zheng He]] showing Temasek (淡あわ馬ば錫すず) at the top left, and Long Ya Men (龍りゅう牙きば門もん) on the right panel.|250x250px220x220px]]

Early Singapore came to be known as "Temasek", a name possibly deriving from "''tasik''" (Malay for lake or sea) and taken to mean Sea-town in Malay.<ref name="toponym">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTOJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA381|title=Singapore Street Names: A Study of Toponymics|date=15 June 2013|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=9789814484749978-981-4484-74-9|page=381|authorsauthor=Victor R Savage, |author2=Brenda Yeoh |access-date=18 May 2021|archive-date=12 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412012131/https://books.google.com/books?id=DTOJAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA381|url-status=live}}</ref> The landscape of Temasek (淡あわ馬ば錫すず) is visually depicted in the [[Mao Kun map]], a set of navigation charts published in the Ming dynasty military treatise ''[[Wubei Zhi]]''.<ref name="church">{{cite book|author=Sally Church|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kt9DIY1g9HYC&pg=PA2354|title=Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures|publisher=Springer|year=2008|isbn=978-14020455921-4020-4559-2|editor=by Helaine Selin|edition=2nd|pages=2354–2355}}</ref> ''[[Long Ya Men]]'' (龍りゅう牙きば門もん, ''Dragon's Teeth Gate'') is also depicted within the map, believed to be the entrance to [[Keppel Harbour]].<ref name=":3">{{cite web|title=島しま夷えびす誌し略りゃく|url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%B3%B6%E5%A4%B7%E8%AA%8C%E7%95%A5|access-date=2021-05-18|archive-date=2020-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201083551/https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%B3%B6%E5%A4%B7%E8%AA%8C%E7%95%A5|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wheatley">{{cite book|author=Paul Wheatley|title=The Golden Khersonese: Studies in the Historical Geography of the Malay Peninsula before A.D. 1500|publisher=[[w:University of Malaya|University of Malaya Press]]|year=1961|location=Kuala Lumpur|pages=82–83|oclc=504030596|author-link=w:Paul Wheatley (geographer)}}</ref> In his work ''[[Daoyi Zhilüe]]'', [[Wang Dayuan]] described ''Long Ya Men'' as the two hills of Temasek that looked like "Dragon's teeth" between which a strait runs; ''Longyamen'' was written about here as one of two settlements in Temasek, the second being ''[[Banzu]]''.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="wheatley" /> The map is often regarded as a surviving document from the [[Treasure voyages|expeditions]] of [[Zheng He]], in addition to accounts written by Zheng's officers.

Sometime in its history, the name of Temasek was changed to Singapura. The ''[[Sejarah Melayu]]'' (''Malay Annals'') contains a tale of a prince of [[Srivijaya]], Sri Tri Buana (also known as [[Sang Nila Utama]]), who landed on Temasek after surviving a storm in the 13th century. According to the tale, the prince saw a strange creature, which he was told was a [[Asiatic lion|lion]]; believing this to be an auspicious sign, he decided to found a settlement called Singapura, which means "Lion City" in [[Sanskrit]]. It is unlikely there ever were lions in Singapore, though [[Tiger|tigerstiger]]s continued to roam the island until the early 20th century.

{{Main|William Farquhar Collection of Natural History Drawings}}[[William Farquhar]] commissioned [[natural history]] drawings during his time as Resident of Malacca from 1803 to 1818. ThesePart of ongoing colonial scientific projects to study and gather knowledge about the Malay Archipelago, these were some of the earliest visual practices of the region.<ref name=":62" /> While the artists are unknown, it is theorised that Chinese artists in mid-19th century Malaya were commissioned to produce these drawings.<ref name=":62" /> Rock and tree motifs in the landscapes of these natural history drawings bear resemblance to the [[Ink wash painting|Chinese ink]] tradition.<ref name=":62" /><gallery perrow="4" widths="150100" heights="150100">

File:Garcinia_MangostanaGarcinia Mangostana;_Booah_Mangies Booah Mangies;_Boorong_Merbo_ Boorong Merbo (William_Farquhar_CollectionWilliam Farquhar Collection,_1819–1823 1819–1823).jpg|Garcinia Mangostana; Booah Mangies; Boorong Merbo (William Farquhar Collection, 1819–1823)

File:Jasminum;_Akar_Benang Akar Benang;_Pokok_Akar_Banang_ Pokok Akar Banang (William_Farquhar_CollectionWilliam Farquhar Collection,_1819–1823 1819–1823).jpg|Jasminum; Akar Benang; Pokok Akar Banang (William Farquhar Collection, 1819–1823)

File:Onka'_Pootie_ Pootie (William_Farquhar_CollectionWilliam Farquhar Collection,_1819–1823 1819–1823).jpg|Onka' Pootie (William Farquhar Collection, 1819–1823)

File:Boorong_AntooBoorong Antoo;_Owl_ Owl (William_Farquhar_CollectionWilliam Farquhar Collection,_1819–1823 1819–1823).jpg|Boorong Antoo; Owl (William Farquhar Collection, 1819–1823)

File:Bentoorong_Bentoorong (William_Farquhar_CollectionWilliam Farquhar Collection,_1819–1823 1819–1823).jpg|Bentoorong (William Farquhar Collection, 1819–1823)

File:Lava_Etam_Lava Etam (Malay);_Black_Pepper Black Pepper;_Piper_Nigrum_ Piper Nigrum (William_Farquhar_CollectionWilliam Farquhar Collection,_1819–1823 1819–1823).jpg|Lava Etam (Malay); Black Pepper; Piper Nigrum (William Farquhar Collection, 1819–1823)

File:Doorean;_Durio_stercorae Durio stercorae;_D D._zibethina_Linn_ zibethina Linn (William_Farquhar_CollectionWilliam Farquhar Collection,_1819–1823 1819–1823).jpg|Doorean; Durio stercorae; D. zibethina Linn (William Farquhar Collection, 1819–1823)

The earliest surviving photographic views of Singapore as a British settlement are [[Jules Itier]]'s 1844 [[daguerreotype]] of Boat Quay and Singapore River from Government Hill.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Liu |first=Gretchen |title=Singapore: A Pictorial History, 1819–2000 |publisher=Archipelago Press in association with the National Heritage Board |year=1999 |isbn=981301881X981-3018-81-X |location=Singapore |pages=18–89}}</ref> Prominent commercial studios were founded by the 19th century, including Japanese and Chinese photography studios.<ref name=":62" /> One of these studios was founded by the German photographer August Sachtler, with A. Sachtler & Co.'s views of Singapore showing the advances in photography 20 years after Itier's daguerrotype.<ref name=":7" />

[[File:Low_Kway_Song,_Lynx,_1921,_Oil_on_canvas,_58.5_x_45_cm.png|thumb|228x228px195x195px|Low Kway Song, ''Lynx'', 1921, Oil on canvas, 58.5 x 45 cm|left]]

The emergence of [[Modern art|modern]] Singaporean art is often tied to the rise of art associations, art schools, and exhibitions in the 20th century.<ref name=":442">{{Cite book |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2015 |isbn=9789810973520 |editor-last=Low |editor-first=Sze Wee |location=Singapore |pages=8–29 |chapter=Some Introductory Remarks}}</ref> In 1909, the Amateur Drawing Association was founded.<ref thename=":8" Amateur Drawing Association,/> ledLed by its first president Tan Kok Tiong, had a club house in [[Amoy Street, Singapore|Amoy Street]] and a membership of about 50 in its first year.<ref name=":8" /> The association's activities included "drawing, literary pursuits and physical culture," but as there were few "drawing members" in spite of an exhibition of members' drawings held in February 1913.<ref name=":8" /> The Amateur Drawing Association suggests a social network of art enthusiasts who were associated with the Straits Chinese and British elite.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last=Kwok|first=Kian Chow|title=Channels & Confluences: A History of Singapore Art|publisher=Singapore Art Museum|year=1996|isbn=9789810074883978-981-00-7488-3|location=Singapore}}</ref>

Artistic activity slowed down after [[World War II]] arrived in Singapore, with works reflecting artist's varied experiences of the war.<ref name=":662" /> Richard Walker's ''Epiphany'' (1942) was likely painted as a makeshift altarpiece in [[Changi Prison]] during the artist's internment there during the war.<ref name=":8" /> It is an oil painting that depicts the Virgin Mary as an Asian woman, suggesting the universality of Christian religious values.<ref name=":8" />

On 1 May 1949 at the Kota Raja Club in Singapore's [[Kampong Glam|Kampung Glam]],<ref name=":27">{{Cite book |last=Soon |first=Simon |url=https://www.academia.edu/14950635 |title=Dato' Hoessein Enas: From His Personal Collection |publisher=IB Tower Gallery Sdn Bhd |year=2015 |isbn=9789671350904978-967-13509-0-4 |location=Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |pages=116–137 |chapter=Moving Suara for Sovereigntysovereignty: Reading the shifts in 1950's Modern Art Discourses in Malay through Kamus Politik |access-date=2022-01-20 |archive-date=2023-04-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230412021631/https://www.academia.edu/14950635 |url-status=live }}</ref> artists Mahat bin Chadang (C. Mahat) and Mohammed Salehuddin founded the ''Persatuan Pelukis Melayu Malaya'' (PPMM, Society of Malay Artists Malaya).<ref name=":27" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite book |last=Ong |first=Zhen Min |title=Nanyang Reverie |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2015 |isbn=9789811405570978-981-14-0557-0 |location=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century |pages=42–53}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite book |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/63675480/apadsam |title=Apad: Tradition, Innovation & Continuity |publisher=Singapore Art Museum & Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya |year=2008 |isbn=978-9810820923981-08-2092-3 |location=Singapore |access-date=2022-01-16 |archive-date=2022-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116061828/https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/63675480/apadsam |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":202">{{Cite journal |last=Ramli |first=Nadia |date=2019 |title=Creative Collectives: Abdul Ghani Hamid and His Contemporaries |url=https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-14/issue-4/jan-mar-2019/creative-collectives/ |journal=BiblioAsia |volume=(Jan-Mar 2019) 14 |issue=4 |pages=56–59 |access-date=2022-01-16 |archive-date=2022-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116060328/https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-14/issue-4/jan-mar-2019/creative-collectives/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The founding of the society is seen as an early instance of collective artistic organisation for Malay artists in Singapore.<ref name=":13" />

Pictorialism by photographers in Singapore is defined as "an assertion of individual expression that manifested as a distinct pluralism of styles and subject matter", with an emphasis on "expression and beauty" in their photographs.<ref name=":18">{{Cite journal |last=Toh |first=Charmaine |date=October 2018 |title=Pictorialism and Modernity in Singapore, 1950–60 |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/707952/pdf |journal=Southeast of Now: Directions in Contemporary and Modern Art in Asia |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=9–31 |doi=10.1353/sen.2018.0013 |s2cid=192678258 |via=Project MUSE |access-date=2021-05-23 |archive-date=2022-07-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707023810/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/707952/pdf |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> This is different from earlier pictorial photographers in [[Europe]] and [[North America]], who were working towards getting photography recognised as fine art.<ref name=":18" /> Singaporean photographers, who had art exhibitions featuring photographs with paintings from 1951, did not face the same tensions between photography and painting, and were thus more open to a variety of photographic styles.<ref name=":18" />

The Equator Art Society was an artists' group founded in 1956 in [[Singapore]], known for promoting [[Social realism|social realist]] art.<ref name=":03">{{Cite web |last=Yeo |first=Alicia Kay Ling |date=2016 |title=Equator Art Society |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1253_2006-11-30.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505131720/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1253_2006-11-30.html |archive-date=5 May 2021 |access-date=26 August 2021 |website=NLB Infopedia}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite book |last=Kwok |first=Kian Chow |url=http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/painters/channel/contents.html |title=Channels & Confluences: A History of Singapore Art |publisher=Singapore Art Museum |year=1996 |isbn=9810074883981-00-7488-3 |location=Singapore |pagespage=71 |access-date=2021-05-17 |archive-date=2021-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517171503/http://www.postcolonialweb.org/singapore/arts/painters/channel/contents.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The Equator Art Society sought to represent the realities and struggles of the masses, depicting Singapore's working classes and the poor often through the use of [[Portrait|portraiture painting]], [[Woodcut|woodcut prints]], and [[sculpture]].<ref name=":03" />

[[File:Kim Lim, Column, 1971-72, Stainless steel, 5 parts, each 21.7 x 27 x 51 cm.jpeg|thumb|Kim Lim, ''Column'', 1971-721971–72, Stainless steel, 5 parts, each 21.7 x 27 x 51 cm]]

Artists such as [[Anthony Poon]], [[Thomas Yeo]], [[Goh Beng Kwan]], and [[Kim Lim]] were influenced by their time overseas, with their work reminiscent of the visual language of [[Abstract expressionism|Abstract Expressionism]], [[Op art|Op Art]], and [[Minimalism (visual arts)|Minimalism]].<ref name=":14">{{Cite book |last1=Seng |first1=Yu Jin |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? |last2=Cai |first2=Heng |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2015 |isbn=9789811405570978-981-14-0557-0 |location=Singapore |pages=54–67 |chapter=The Real Against the New: Social Realism and Abstraction}}</ref> For example, Singaporean-British artist Kim Lim's stainless steel sculpture, ''Column'' (1971–72), has been seen as an instance of Minimalist art in Britain.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kee |first=Joan |title=Minimalism: Space. Light. Object. |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |year=2018 |isbn=9789811166808978-981-11-6680-8 |location=Singapore |pages=64–72 |chapter=Minimalism by All Means}}</ref>

In April 1961, the art section of ''Lembaga Tetap Kongres Bahasa dan Kebudayaan Melayu'' (LTK, Permanent Board of Congress of Malay Language and Culture) staged a major exhibition at the [[Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall|Victoria Memorial Hall]]. The exhibition featured the works of 34 Malay artists, both established and emerging.<ref name=":20202">{{Cite journal |last=Ramli |first=Nadia |date=2019 |title=Creative Collectives: Abdul Ghani Hamid and His Contemporaries |url=https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-14/issue-4/jan-mar-2019/creative-collectives/ |journal=BiblioAsia |volume=(Jan-Mar 2019) 14 |issue=4 |pages=56–59 |access-date=2022-01-16 |archive-date=2022-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116060328/https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-14/issue-4/jan-mar-2019/creative-collectives/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The exhibition publication documented works in the show from established artists such as C. Mahat, Sulaiman Haji Suhaimi, M. Salehuddin, M. Sawoot, Aman Ahmad, and younger artists like Abdul Ghani Hamid, S. Mohdir, S. Mahdar and Rohani Ismail.<ref name=":20202" /> Calls for an art society for Malay artists led to the formation of the ''Angkatan Pelukis Aneka Daya'' (APAD, Association of Artists of Various Resources) in July 1962.<ref name=":20202" /> APAD was led by Abdul Ghani Hamid, Muhammad Ali Sabran, S. Mohdir, Ahmin Haji Noh, Hamidah M. F. Suhaimi and Mustafa Yassin.<ref name=":20202" /> Other members that came to contribute to APAD include Rohani Ismail, Maisara (Sara) Dariat, Rosma Mahyuddin Guha, and Hamidah Jalil.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rahmat |first=Nurdiana |date=2021 |title=Terms and Conditions: Re-examining Singapore Art History Through the Art Making Experiences of Early Malay Women Artists |url=https://currentsjournal.net/Terms-and-Conditions |journal=Currents Journal |access-date=2022-01-16 |archive-date=2022-01-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116060327/https://currentsjournal.net/Terms-and-Conditions |url-status=live }}</ref>

The association continues to organise solo and group exhibitions, also collaborating with other cultural groups, art societies, and institutions, locally and regionally.<ref name=":20202" />

=== The ''Modern Art'' exhibition (1963) and the Modern Art Society ===

The [[Modern Art Society]] (MAS), launched with [[Ho Ho Ying]] as president in 1963, organised the exhibition titled ''Modern Art'' exhibition, held at the National Library from 12 October to 27 October 1963.<ref name=":25">{{Cite book |last=Seng |first=Yu Jin |url=https://issuu.com/asiaartcollective/docs/transcend_ |title=Transcend: 50 Years of Singapore Modern Art |publisher=Iola Liu |year=2017 |isbn=978-981-11-3759-4 |editor-last=Seng |editor-first=Yu Jin |location=Singapore |pages=14–21 |chapter=Claiming the Modern: The Modern Art Society's Inaugural Exhibition in 1963 within a Timeline of Singapore Art |access-date=19 January 2024 |editor-last2=Tan |editor-first2=Ping Chiang }}</ref> The aims of the MAS included "the promotion of modern art in Malaysia," with the use of "Malaysia" rather than 'Malaya' or 'Singapore' pointing to this specific period when Singapore was part of Malaysia.<ref name=":25" /> The MAS hoped for the ''Modern Art'' exhibition to travel through Malaysia, including to cities like Kuala Lumpur.<ref name=":25" />

The 1970s saw artists shift away from modern art practices like sculpture and painting, towards contemporary art practices like video, installation, and conceptual art.<ref name=":453" /> [[Contemporary art]] in Singapore tends to examine themes of "hyper-modernity and the built environment; alienation and changing social mores; post-colonial identities and multiculturalism."<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Teh |first=David |date=2017 |title=Insular Visions: notes on video art in Singapore |url=https://www.academia.edu/29987712 |url-status=live |journal=The Japan Foundation Asia Center Art Studies |volume=3|via=Academia.org|access-date=2021-05-17|archive-date=2021-05-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517073952/https://www.academia.edu/29987712/Insular_Visions_notes_on_video_art_in_Singapore |urlarchive-statusdate=live2021-05-17 |access-date=2021-05-17 |via=Academia.org}}</ref> Across these tendencies, "the exploration of performance and the performative body" is a common running thread.<ref name=":1" />

In March 1988, the three artists [[Salleh Japar]], Goh Ee Choo, and [[S. Chandrasekaran]] refused to participate in their graduation show at [[Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts]], instead holding an exhibition titled ''Trimurti'' at the [[Goethe-Institut]] in Singapore.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Sabapathy |first=T.K. |title=Trimurti and Ten years After |publisher=Singapore Art Museum |year=1998 |isbn=9810407785981-04-0778-5 |location=Singapore}}</ref> The title ''[[Trimurti]]'' refers to Hinduism's triple deity, representing creation, maintenance, and destruction.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Lingham |first=Susie |title=Negotiating Home, History and Nation: Two Decades of Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia, 1991-2011 |publisher=Singapore Art Museum |year=2011 |isbn=9789810881047978-981-08-8104-7 |editor-last=Lenzi |editor-first=Iola |location=Singapore |pages=55-7055–70 |chapter=A Quota on Expression: Visions, Vexations & Vanishings: Contemporary Art in Singapore from the Late 1980s to the Present |editor-last2=Aw |editor-first2=Tash}}</ref>

The three artists sought to embrace differences as a collective, reflecting Singapore's multiculturalism through each of their racial and religious identities, as a Malay-Muslim for Salleh, Chinese-Buddhist for Goh, and Indian-Hindu for Chandrasekaran.<ref name=":9" /> For example, Chandrasekaran's work, ''Visvayoni,'' draws upon the term "yoni," the Sanskrit word for "womb," which is a symbol for the Mother Goddess [[Shakti]] from Hinduism.<ref name=":453" /> The performance Chandrasekaran did for the work thus symbolised processes of birth, creation, and change.<ref name=":453" />

The three artists' approach to ethnic and religious identity has sincemore recently been critiqued as a form of multicultural essentialism that reductively boundbinds racial identities to religious affiliations, further aligning with the stategovernment's insistence that racial identities had to be kept distinct under the nationgovernment's version of "racial harmony".<ref name=":9" />

=== The Artists Village, 5th Passage, and performance art ===

{{Main|The Artists Village|5th Passage}}

In 2001, Singapore participated in the [[Venice Biennale]] with its own national pavilion for the first time, with artists [[Henri Chen KeZhan]], Matthew Ngui, [[Salleh Japar]], and [[Suzann Victor]] exhibiting work.<ref name=":453">{{Cite book |last=Toh |first=Charmaine |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century |date=2015 |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |isbn=9789810973841978-981-09-7384-1 |editor-last=Low |editor-first=Sze Wee |pagepages=90-10390–103 |chapter=Shifting Grounds}}</ref> Singapore continued its participation in the Venice Biennale with the exception of 2013, when the National Arts Council reassessed its participation in future biennales and resumed in 2015 after signing a 20-year lease on a national pavilion at the Arsenale in Venice.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nanda |first=Akshita |date=6 May 2015 |title=Singapore signs 20-year lease on Venice Biennale pavilion |work=The Straits Times |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/singapore-signs-20-year-lease-on-venice-biennale-pavilion |access-date=22 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124182411/https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/singapore-signs-20-year-lease-on-venice-biennale-pavilion |archive-date=24 November 2015}}</ref> [[Documenta11]] in 2002 would see the participation of [[Charles Lim]] and Woon Tien Wei as the [[internet art]] collective tsunamii.net, presenting the work ''alpha 3.4'' (2002).<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 October 2016 |title=alpha 3.4 |url=https://anthology.rhizome.org/alpha-3-4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201153743/https://anthology.rhizome.org/alpha-3-4 |archive-date=1 February 2021 |access-date=22 May 2021 |website=Rhizome Net Art Anthology}}</ref> After several years of hosting large-scale exhibitions such as the [[Singapore Art Show]], the Nokia Singapore Art series, and SENI Singapore in 2004, Singapore launched the inaugural [[Singapore Biennale]] in 2006.<ref name=":295">{{Cite web |last1=Lim |first1=Siew Kim |last2=Goh |first2=Lee Kim |date=2017 |title=Singapore Biennale |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1363_2008-07-31.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715174457/https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1363_2008-07-31.html |archive-date=2115 OctoberJuly 2020 |access-date=21 October 2020 |website=NLB Infopedia}}</ref>

[[File:CC4_Promenade_Platform_B_with_artwork_20200902_142340.jpg|thumb|300x300px220x220px|[[PHUNK]], ''Dreams in Social Cosmic Odyssey'', 2010, [[Promenade MRT station]] in Singapore]]

In 2003, the "Art in Transit" (AIT) initiative was established by the [[Land Transport Authority]] (LTA) in tandem with the completion of the [[North East MRT line|North East Line]] on the country's [[Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore)|Mass Rapid Transit]] (MRT) system.<ref name="Massot 2020">{{Cite web |date=7 April 2020 |title=Getting Around - Public Transport - A Better Public Transport Experience - Art in Transit |url=https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/getting_around/public_transport/a_better_public_transport_experience/art_in_transit.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421081559/https://www.lta.gov.sg/content/ltagov/en/getting_around/public_transport/a_better_public_transport_experience/art_in_transit.html |archive-date=21 April 2020 |access-date=23 June 2022 |website=LTA}}</ref> The initiative gave MRT stations specially commissioned permanent artworks by Singaporean artists in a wide variety of art styles and mediums, including sculptures, murals and mosaics often integrated into the stations' interior architecture.<ref name="Massot 2020" /><ref name="AIT">{{Cite web |title=Art in Transit brochure |url=http://www.lta.gov.sg/public_transport/doc/Art%20in%20Transit%20brochure.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050830161228/http://www.lta.gov.sg/public_transport/doc/Art%20in%20Transit%20brochure.pdf |archive-date=30 August 2005 |access-date=23 June 2022 |publisher=Land Transport Authority}}</ref> With over 300 art pieces across 80 stations, it is Singapore's largest [[public art]] programme.<ref name="Massot 2020" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lim |first=Melanie |date=19 November 2019 |title=LTA looking for artists to spruce up Punggol Coast MRT station, applications close Dec. 19, 2019 |language=en |work=Mothership |publisher=Bridgewater Holdings Pte Ltd |url=https://mothership.sg/2019/11/lta-punggol-coast-mrt-artists/ |url-status=live |access-date=23 June 2022 |archive-date=27 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220327090903/https://mothership.sg/2019/11/lta-punggol-coast-mrt-artists/ }}</ref>

In 2009, [[Ming Wong]] was the first Singaporean to receive an award at the Venice Biennale, receiving the Special Mention (Expanding Worlds) during the Biennale's Opening Ceremony for his work ''Life of Imitation''.<ref name=":452">{{Cite book |last=Toh |first=Charmaine |title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century |date=2015 |publisher=National Gallery Singapore |isbn=9789810973841 |editor-last=Low |editor-first=Sze Wee |page=92 |chapter=Shifting Grounds}}</ref> The [[NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore]] opened in 2013 with [[Ute Meta Bauer]] as founding director, and the [[National Gallery Singapore]] opened in 2015. Singaporean art continues in its circulation, with artists such as [[Ho Tzu Nyen]] and [[Shubigi Rao]] making appearances on the on the 2019 edition of the ''[[ArtReview]]'' Power 100 list, which charts the most influential individuals working in contemporary art.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Power 100: Most influential people in 2019 in the contemporary artworld: Ho Tzu Nyen |url=https://artreview.com/artist/ho-tzu-nyen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811114529/https://artreview.com/artist/ho-tzu-nyen/ |archive-date=11 August 2020 |access-date=11 August 2020 |website=ArtReview}}</ref><ref name=":53">{{Cite web |date=2019 |title=Power 100: Most influential people in 2019 in the contemporary artworld: Bose Krishnamachari & Shubigi Rao |url=https://artreview.com/artist/bose-krishnamachari-shubigi-rao/?year=2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200726050705/https://artreview.com/artist/bose-krishnamachari-shubigi-rao/?year=2019 |archive-date=26 July 2020 |access-date=26 July 2020 |website=ArtReview}}</ref>{{clear}}

* {{cite book|last=Hsü|first=Marco|title=A Brief History of Malayan Art (马来亚艺术简史し)|publisher=Millenium Books|year=1999|isbn=9810416393981-04-1639-3|location=Singapore|translator-last=Lai|translator-first=Chee Kien}}

* {{cite book|last=Low|first=Sze Wee|title=Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore Since the 19th Century|publisher=National Gallery Singapore|year=2015|isbn=9789811405570978-981-14-0557-0|location=Singapore}}

* {{Cite book |last=Sabapathy |first=T.K. |title=Road to Nowhere: The Quick Rise and the Long Fall of Art History in Singapore |publisher=The Art Gallery, National Institute of Education |year=2010 |isbn=978-9810852641981-08-5264-1 |location=Singapore |author-link=T.K. Sabapathy}}

* {{Cite book |last=Sabapathy |first=T.K. |title=Writing the Modern: Selected Texts on Art & Art History in Singapore & Southeast Asia 1973–2015 |publisher=Singapore Art Museum |year=2018 |isbn=9789811157639978-981-11-5763-9 |editor-last=Ahmad |editor-first=Mashadi |location=Singapore |editor-last2=Lingham |editor-first2=Susie |editor-link2=Susie Lingham |editor-last3=Schoppert |editor-first3=Peter |editor-last4=Toh |editor-first4=Joyce}}