• 06 Jan 2023

  • SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark

  • 7:30 PM

As part of their ongoing residencies at SAM, Aljaz Rudolf + Eva Smrekar, Berny Tan, and Vishal Kumaraswamy opened their studios to the public, offering a peek into their modes of working as they explore a range of topics from genetics to critical pedagogy and shifting notion of justice.

FaceorFactory
Ljubljana-based Aljaz Rudolf and Eva Smrekar convene FaceOrFactory, an artistic platform that studies the structure of the (human) face to unravel burgeoning questions around genetic, judicial, cosmetic and political relations in our times. FaceOrFactory also presents insights into another project, SuperSpa, which explores how technology and orientalism are coalescing in relation to the (human) face in the wellness and cosmetic industry. Fragments from their recently completed project titled The Face of Corporate Building (2022) will also be on display — a video game exploring NFT platforms as a new form of contemporary mythology in which the (human) face functions as the front side of rhetorical patterns, economic transactions, and political neutralisation.

Subaltern Futurisms
Bangalore-based Vishal Kumaraswamy will continue to develop his long-term research into Subaltern Futurisms – a pedagogical structure that aims to build a critical framework for alternative notions of equity and justice. Expanding his research into points of convergence between caste and technology, Kumaraswamy examines the perpetuation of “caste hierarchies” in Singapore, their eventual mutation into contemporary forms, and the ways in which technology enables this ongoing marginalisation. During his residency at the Singapore Art Museum, Kumaraswamy will be using the Tamil language as a starting point for his inquiries.

Page Break

Page Break was a work-in-progress curatorial project by Berny Tan that has been evolving over her three-month Curatorial & Research Residency. It looks at how everyday environments, objects, and phenomena are explored through the medium of the art book. Presented as part of Singapore Biennale 2022 named Natasha, her residency space functions as a hybrid open studio that hosts small-scale exhibitions, an art book library, and occasional programmes. It is a site for collaborations that build on Tan’s connections within the visual art community in Singapore, featuring artists and designers who make art books that examine the otherwise ordinary.

 

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