Date: Fri, 28 Jul

Time: 6.30PM

Venue: The Engine Room, Level 1

Join us in this informal session between artist Priyageetha Dia and cultural studies scholar, Dr Shanthini Pillai as they speak about their affinities of looking into the colonial history of rubber plantation as a site of resistance. This conversation will be moderated by SAM curator Syaheedah Iskandar.

Shanthini Pillai (PhD) is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, National University of Malaysia (UKM). Her research interests are anchored primarily in ethnic diversity, diaspora and transnationalism in literary and cultural texts with particular reference to the global South Asian diaspora. An emergent interest is in French Catholic Missionaries and the parish lives of Catholic diasporic Indians and Chinese in 19th century Malaya. She has headed several research projects on transnationalism and cultural identity and has also participated in transnational research projects. She has held Research Fellowships at the University of Queensland, Australia and the Asia Research Institute, Singapore. Her articles have appeared in various high-indexed academic journals including The Australian Journal of Anthropology, International Journal of Cultural Studies, SOJOURN: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, The International Journal of the Sociology of Language and Social Sciences and Missions, among others.

Priyageetha Dia works with time-based media and installation. Her artworks offer speculative narratives on Southeast Asian plantations, which she views as sites for recovering stories of resistance. Her research interests also include building nonlinear narratives through digital semiotics, migrant histories and our relationship with the non-human. Her recent exhibitions have been held at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Kerala (2022–2023); La Trobe Art Institute, Australia (2022); National Gallery Singapore (2020) and ArtScience Museum, Singapore (2019). She was the recipient of the IMPART award by Art Outreach in 2019. Dia was an Artist-in-Residence at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore in 2022 and was selected for the upcoming cycle by SEA AiR—Studio Residencies at the Jan van Eyck Academie in the Netherlands from April to July 2023.

Date: Fri, 28 Jul

Time: 8PM

Venue: Gallery 1, Level 1

Lick is an improvised performance that applies French philosopher Henri Bergson's adage, "movement is reality itself", to the process of composition. Loops of sound are collected from various corners of the Internet and linked to video sequences that were similarly sourced online. Every time a sound is played, a corresponding visual will be triggered. In this way, the durational performance becomes a happening that layers sound and images above one another intuitively to create a jazzy ensemble.

Lick's breezy and dynamic approach is mirrored in A Collisional Accelerator of Everydays (A.C.A.E.), the work Yeyoon Avis Ann presents for SAM Contemporaries: Residues and Remixes. Lick was first performed at the Esplanade in 2021, and this new iteration will feature collaborator Xafiér Yap.

Xafiér Yap is a re-packager, an in-between of pre-writer and postreader; They draw from different sources of information to build a world that is plausible. Their artworks explore the potentiality of sincere investments such as alternative kinships and entanglements (and all the embarrassments!) of the human condition. Xafiér has participated in local and international museums/spaces such as Singapore Art Museum, Library@Harbourfront, S/W/S, LUX, Gillman Barracks and more.

Yeyoon Ann Avis is a multimedia artist who reconsiders systems of artistic production. Her practice extends beyond the limits of visual art and includes music, design and branding. As an artist, she often draws inspiration from digital culture and her personal experiences. Avis has participated in group exhibitions such as Sugar pills for a bitter world (2022) at Objectifs; Not for Sale (2022) during Singapore Art Week; Time Passes (2021) at the National Gallery Singapore; Objects in the Mirror (2019) at Supernormal and held a solo exhibition n Entities (2018) in Jeju Island, South Korea. Avis also performed her live video Lick (2021) at the Esplanade—Theatres on the Bay, Singapore.

Date: Sat, 29 Jul

Time: 11AM

Venue: The Engine Room, Level 1

Free, by registration

Register here

Aleezon's workshop transforms the commonplace fingernail into a canvas for intricate artistry. Through imparted techniques, Aleezon introduces a new depth to the world of nail art. This immersive exploration goes beyond the familiar, presenting nail art as a sophisticated form of miniature sculpture. Guided by Aleezon, simple nail surfaces undergo a metamorphosis, emerging as vivid, wearable pieces of art, each narrating its unique visual tale.

Extending from Fyerool Darma’s presentation in SAM Contemporaries: Residues & Remixes, this programme brings to the fore creative practices beyond the artist’s direct engagement with his collaborators and invites dissonances as a form of creative energy.

Aleezon's transdisciplinary practice moves fluidly across the realms of garment making and DJing, creating experiences that transcend the tangible. Her work stands as a nuanced exploration of human form and expression, journeying into unknown territories in search of truths. In her recent endeavour, Thats_why, she disrupts traditional frameworks with a NON-immersive set design, probing the norms of DJ adulation.

Date: Sat, 29 Jul

Time: 2PM

Venue: The Engine Room, Level 1

Join us in this informal dialogue between artist Khairulddin Wahab and historian Faizah Zakaria, as they quiz each other on why they do the work they do, as well as the different approaches they take to address landscapes and environmental histories in the region. This session will be moderated by SAM curator Kenneth Tay.

Faizah Zakaria is assistant professor in the Departments of Southeast Asian Studies and Malay Studies. Her research centres on the environmental history of maritime Southeast Asia, with a focus on religion and ecology, natural disasters as well as indigenous environmental movements. Her first monograph, The Camphor Tree and the Elephant: Religion and Ecological Change in Maritime Southeast Asia has been published by University of Washington Press in 2023. She is presently developing a new monograph project on the history of the Malayan Nature Society and their campaigns with charismatic fauna in the second half of the twentieth century.

Khairulddin Wahab’s paintings weave narratives from cultural geography, environmental history and post-colonialism in Singapore and Southeast Asia. Working with archival materials and found images, Khairulddin creates visual tableaus that allude to our historical and political encounters with the natural world. He graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts in 2014. He has exhibited at local and international events and venues including Cuturi Gallery with two solo exhibitions, The Shape of Land (2023) and The Word for World is Forest (2021); Biennale Jogja XV—Equator 5 (2019) and State of Motion: Sejarah-ku (2018). He was the recipient of the National Library Creative Residency in 2021 and winner of the 2018 UOB Painting of the Year.

Date: Sat, 29 Jul

Time: 3PM

Venue: Gallery 1, Level 1

How does the past affect the present and how may new technologies shape our understanding of the world?

Join SAM curators Joella Kiu, Syaheedah Iskandar, Kenneth Tay and Teng Yen Hui as they share how the 6 Singapore-based artists use innovative methods and approaches inspired by historical perspectives to explore the traces of time and place, and bring forgotten stories to light through their art.

This tour is recommended for youths and adults.

Date: Sat, 29 Jul

Time: 4PM

Venue: The Engine Room, Level 1

Join artist Anthony Chin and researcher Lim Shao Bin as they share recent findings and affinities on the historical subject of Japanese presence in Southeast Asia. This conversation will be moderated by SAM curator Teng Yen Hui.

Lim Shao Bin was born in 1957 in Singapore. He graduated from Keio University (Japan) in 1985 and was the Vice President of Information Technology Management Association, Singapore. Lim is a private collector who has donated hundreds of Pacific War Japanese military artefacts to the National Library. He published The Images of Singapore From the Japanese Perspectives (1868–1941) in 2004. He is now a member of the editorial committee of Yi He Shi Ji (怡和世纪), a local magazine published by the Ee Hoe Hean Club.

Anthony Chin creates site-specific and responsive artworks that poetically and conceptually respond to a given site’s architectural presence and history. He is drawn to issues of power that challenge our collective existence, in part as a response to living on a tiny island city state. His works, which emerge from extensive research, transform common materials to draw attention to unacknowledged structures of power in the colonial and post-colonial eras.

Chin has participated in various local and overseas art shows and venues, including Beijing’s 798 art district where he held his first solo exhibition, as well as residencies and exhibitions at the Taipei International Artists Village and the Metropolitan Museum of Manila. He has also participated in four programmes by local arts organisation OH! Open House.

Date: Sat, 29 Jul

Time: 5.15PM

Venue: The Engine Room, Level 1

Tentang Langit and Isyraf will deliver an electrifying fusion of electronica and folk music, combining electronic beats with captivating melodies. Their performance features live remixes of Tentang Langit's songs, showcasing intricate melodies and pulsating rhythms. The addition of an original piece and spoken word poetry adds depth to their artistic expression. This fusion of musical styles aims to engage and provoke thought, offering an immersive and mesmerising experience for the audience.

Extending from Fyerool Darma’s presentation in SAM Contemporaries: Residues & Remixes, this programme brings to the fore creative practices beyond the artist’s direct engagement with his collaborators and invites dissonances as a form of creative energy.

Isyraf is a producer and drummer based in Singapore, known for his diverse musical style that encompasses everything from harsh noise to experimental electronic music. He has performed in various bands, most notably The Psalms and more recently, sl_owtalk. Isyraf actively works on creating original compositions and releases them on a monthly basis through online platforms such as Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music, and other music streaming sites, offering them for free.

Tentang Langit is a Singaporean singer-songwriter who infuses his music with folk influences. Since his debut in 2018, he has been writing about the everyday struggles and triumphs of life in Singapore, capturing the essence of society's ups and downs. His music is a reflection of his honest and relatable approach to storytelling.