It's strange to say that it was relief I felt when previewing Singapore Art Museum's new enclave at Tanjong Pagar Distripark. After a series of hoarding commissions along the Bras Basah site, mini mobile set ups and projects housed at National Gallery, seeing a collection of diverse contemporary installations interacting well with the new space was almost comforting.
That may sound a tad dramatic, but SAM has always had a repertoire of engaging exhibitions, all of which deserve their own stomping ground. Now across two floors and expansive ceiling heights are two main galleries, a multi-purpose space, artist residencies, and even a coffee bookshop of local titles by Epigram Bookshop and Balestier Market Collective (a pop-up for now).
What to check out
You've already made the trip down to Keppel, so of course you're checking everything off the list. We would actually start with multi-purpose space The Engine Room, which currently houses Gan Siong King: My Video Making Practice. It seems a straightforward viewing for a video essay, but the sitting benches made in collaboration with Singapore Institute of Technology researchers uses low-frequency vibration to accompany high-frequency audio from the visuals which are splayed across contrasting screens.
REFUSE is easily the highlight as an impressive culmination of collaborative effort on a solid concept in Gallery 1. Presented by local band The Observatory and a network encompassing mycology design (Bewilder), scenography installation (Chen Sai Hua Kuan), archival advice (Ujikaji), moving image (Yeo Siew Hua), and guest curation (Tang Fu Kuen), the inter-media exhibition is an immersive foray into …mushrooms, simply put. Without giving too much away since it's best experienced personally, it's a poetic yet tangible pitting of decomposition against composition.
In Gallery 2, Korakrit Arunanondchai’s A Machine Boosting Energy into the Universe is a large-scale and frankly bangin' ode to Bangkok within a welcoming mishmash of biophillic monstrosities. The art doesn't end there. You can also catch more rudimentary pieces and connect with pilot resident artists Chu Hao Pei, Salty Xi Jie Ng, and Johann Yamin in Present Realms at Level 3.
Additionally, as a key partner for Singapore Art Week 2022, SAM will be hosting an array of live performances, artists dialogues and ticketed events in January. To see the buzz of creative energy and artful expression manifest in one location again is certainly worth the visit.
Singapore Art Museum is located at Tanjong Pagar Distripark #01-02, Singapore 089065 (10 am – 7 pm daily). Admission is free for all visitors until 14 February to celebrate the first month of its opening.
