[OTA Fine Arts Tokyo] Singapura:: Zai Kuning, Hilmi Johandi, Guo-Liang Tan, Liao Jiekai, Jason Lim

Ota Fine Arts Tokyo is delighted to present “Singapura”, a group exhibition featuring a selection of five artists from Singapore, the city-state known for its diverse mix of cultures. The artists are equally diversified in their own ways – their multi-disciplinary practices span from conventional painting and drawing to performance, installation, film as well as curatorial projects.

Taking on a more anecdotal approach, Liao Jiekai’s (b. 1984, Singapore) short film Silent Light (2015) shows personal footage that the artist recorded during his grandmother’s funeral. Shot on expired 16mm film, the scenes of modern-day Singapore appear in sepia tones, giving one a sense of nostalgia. This is juxtaposed by an elderly female voice who narrates her childhood memories of growing up in Singapore in the 1940s during the Japanese occupation when Japanese soldiers used to play with her while getting their haircuts at her father’s barber shop. She goes on to describe how she also grew up in Malaysia with relatives from China, her days spent on Hainan island, and her view of life and death. Such mixes of cultures and backgrounds is common in Singapore even up till today, and Liao raises questions the identity of Singapore through the artwork.

Ota Fine Arts Tokyo invites all to experience the various perspectives of Singapore through the works of these five artists from different generations.