Two Kedah-born Malaysian artists from different generations: Ahmad Fuad Osman and the late Ismail Zain (1930-1991), whose works reflect the breadth of the country’s forward-looking artistic legacy, are among the highlights of National Gallery Singapore’s latest exhibition Art Remembers.
The group show, running through Oct 18, explores how artists across South-East Asia engage with archives to reframe history, preserve memory and imagine new futures. It brings together 20 works, including new commissions and key pieces from Singapore’s National Collection.
In Recollections Of Long Lost Memories, Ahmad Fuad digitally manipulates archival photographs from the post-Merdeka past, inserting a contemporary figure in modern dress and comical poses to explore how national histories are continually shaped and retold.
Meanwhile, Ismail’s Digital Collage series (1988), created on a Macintosh computer, is a pioneering work that reflects the region’s early embrace of computer-based art.
“Through Art Remembers, National Gallery Singapore presents archives as art and centres artists as important interpreters and storytellers of history and memory. This exhibition builds on the gallery’s ongoing commitment to deepening understanding of how our region’s art histories are shaped, remembered, and shared," says Dr Eugene Tan, CEO and director, National Gallery Singapore, and project director of the exhibition.
Other highlights includes a fish taking centre stage in Singaporean artist Robert Zhao’s video work, tracing the tilapia’s unlikely journey from wartime Singapore to commercial success in Taiwan and uncovering stories of migration and cultural exchange.
A newly commissioned mural by Jogjakarta-based printmaking collective Krack! revisits wartime visual materials to examine the complexities of history, power and collective memory.
From a more personal perspective, Australian artist Vanghoua Anthony Vue combines memory with paintings based on archival imagery to recover the legacy of the lesser-known conflict in Laos during the Vietnam War.
The exhibition also features pioneering digital and technology-driven works by Singaporean artists Ho Tzu Nyen and Ho Rui An.
Filipino American artist Josh Kline makes his debut with work created during a residency at Singapore Tyler Print Institute, transforming discarded iPhones – familiar devices that hold vast personal archives – into paper, prompting reflection on the relationship between technology and collective history.
"We hope audiences will rediscover familiar histories from fresh perspectives and experience how artists’ creative practices can illuminate lesser-known narratives, foster reflection and connection, and inspire us through the enduring power of art to remember,” concludes Tan.
