Level 3, Gallery 3, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark
Seeing Forest
Seeing Forest is a project that was conceived by Robert Zhao Renhui for the Singapore Pavilion at the 60th International Art Exhibition ‒ La Biennale di Venezia in 2024.
Observation of the ultimately unknowable in the natural world is a hallmark of Zhao’s artistic practice, and his varied projects highlight the complex interactions between nature and human life. For almost a decade, he has been documenting various secondary forests in Singapore—forested areas that have grown over land previously deforested by human development—capturing phenomena rarely, if ever, seen before.
Secondary forests are the threshold between undisturbed primary forests and developed urban areas, and are often home to plant and animal species that have been introduced to Singapore since the 19th century. They also offer insight into the intricate web of coexistence between humans and nonhumans. Zhao’s accumulated observations of these areas are condensed into thought-provoking images and installations, revealing the layered timelines and stories within.
Seeing Forest is about a reciprocal gaze: how we see nature and how nature sees us. It invites us to explore the complexities of Singapore’s evolving landscape, showing how urban planning has shaped the natural world, and how nature, in turn, responds to it. Amidst the city’s concrete structures are vibrant ecosystems thriving beyond human control and regulation, nurturing life that resists categorisation or domination. The exhibition offers a glimpse into these deep, untamed rhythms of forest time, marching on in spaces often overlooked in the rush of city life.
Image Credit: Robert Zhao Renhui, Buffy (2024). Courtesy of Robert Zhao Renhui.
about the artistic team
ARTIST | ROBERT ZHAO RENHUI
Robert Zhao Renhui (b. 1983, Singapore) is an interdisciplinary artist who explores the complex and commingled relationships between nature and culture. Working across installation, photography, video and sculpture, Zhao is interested in the multifarious beings and objects that constitute the living world, and whose experiences and knowledge enrich our collective existence.
Zhao has held solo exhibitions, The Forest Institute (2022) at Gillman Barracks, Singapore and Monuments in the Forest at ShanghART Gallery (2023) in Shanghai. His latest work is a performance installation titled Albizia (2023), commissioned by Esplanade– Theatres on the Bay. He has also been featured in the 14th Gwangju Biennale (2023), 10th Busan Biennale (2020), 6th Singapore Biennale (2019), 9th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (2018), 11th Taipei Biennale (2018), 17th Jakarta Biennale (2017) and 20th Biennale of Sydney (2016).
In 2010, Zhao received the prestigious National Arts Council Young Artist Award, Singapore’s highest award for young arts practitioners aged 35 and below. He was also a finalist for the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award in 2017.
CURATOR | HAEJU KIM
Haeju Kim (born 1980, South Korea) is a Senior Curator at Singapore Art Museum (SAM), and her research focuses on contemporary art practices in Singapore, Southeast Asia and Asia. Her curatorial approach emphasises the consideration of the body, time and memory as key elements. Haeju’s interest in performance and her previous collaborations with performance artists and performing arts institutions have shaped her view of exhibition curating as the creation of a shared space for bodily and temporal experiences.
Prior to joining SAM, Kim was the Artistic Director of the Busan Biennale 2022. She was also the Deputy Director at Art Sonje Center, where she oversaw the exhibitions, programmes as well as the operation of the South Korean museum. She is currently pursuing research and curatorial work that is focused on diverse topics such as migration and language, questions of coexistence, ecological perspectives, and the interplay between locality and its planetary connection, among others.
Major exhibitions curated by Kim include We, on the Rising Wave at the Busan Biennale 2022, and solo exhibitions by Shitamichi Motoyuki (A ship went up that hill, 2022) and Manon de Boer (Down Time, 2022) at Kunsthal Aarhus, Denmark. She also curated Moving/Image, a three-chapter exhibition and performance programme that was presented at Seoul Art Space Mullae (2016), ARKO Art Center (2017) and Seoul Museum of Art (2020).
related programmes
check out the line-up of free and ticketed event below!
SAW at SAM
Fri, 17 Jan – Sun, 26 Jan 2025
10am–7pm
(Extended museum hours from 10am–9 pm on 17–18 & 24–25 Jan)
Catch live performances after dark, on 17-19 January, and a vibrant art market on 24-26 January. Enjoy free entry to exhibitions by Robert Zhao, Yee I-Lann, and Pratchaya Phinthong.
Celebrate Seeing Forest with exclusive merchandise produced by SAM and designed by Robert Zhao Renhui. Available at the Level 1 vending machine in SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, while stocks last.
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