Installation in Progress
Exhibition-making and the Singapore Art Museum
What is an exhibition? How is an exhibition made? And why do we make exhibitions?
Exhibitions are core to the life of a museum. Here, Installation in Progress takes a closer look at exhibition making from the perspectives of three parties: the curator, the artist and the audience.
Installation in Progress charts Singapore Art Museum’s (SAM) exhibition history, presents a new artwork commission from Singaporean artist Michael Lee, and an interactive component that lets visitors try out their own exhibition plans. In doing so, the presentation surveys the spectrum of SAM’s past exhibitions, the current day and speculates on future possibilities.
Through presentations and re-presentations of a museum’s collection, artwork commissions, adaptations and loans, each exhibition also brings together a kaleidoscope of artistic lenses through which the world can be viewed anew.
Every exhibition is also ultimately brought to life by a multitude of individuals; many work behind the scenes but each leaves a trace on what is finally seen. By reflecting on the multiple dimensions of what goes into creating an exhibition, Installation in Progress seeks to uncover the spirit of creating an exhibition.
LED rope, LED tubes, transformers, stainless steel, acrylic
The title of Michael Lee’s artwork draws from the common proverb, “building castles in the air”. Taking the form of a giant cloud, the shape is a symbol of collective imagination and contemplation, while the objects enclosed within it are representative of museum operational processes, and texts that descend from it give more specificity to artists’ desires. The schematic model composed of ‘light rope’ manifests itself as an idealised notion of what artists want from a contemporary art museum, and communicates the affinities and tensions between institution and artistic community.
Exhibited alongside the sculpture, a bound volume of mind maps stemming from a workshop conducted by the artist offers visitors an opportunity to peer into the psyche of the artistic community in Singapore. These artists’ responses that were collated served as additional material for the conceptualisation of the final work presented.
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