Whether you are an aficionado of abstract art, or just an admirer of all things beautiful, be sure not to miss Singapore’s next big art exhibition, Symphony in Colours. (more…)
Blog
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Pannaphan Yodmanee and Zulkifle Mahmod win the Benesse and Soichiro Prize 2016
Pannaphan Yodmanee, Aftermath 2016. The 11th Benesse Prize was announced last night and the winner from the five shortlisted artists was Pannaphan Yodmanee from Thailand. A special award was also presented on the occasion of the inaugural Asian edition of the Benesse Prize. Singaporean sound artist Zulkifle Mahmod was awarded the Soichiro Fukutake Prize for his work Sonic Reflections, 2016.
Besides the cash prize of JPY 3,000,000, Yodmanee will be commissioned to visit and create a work to be exhibited at Benesse Art Site Naoshima,
Pannaphan Yodmanee: Winner 11th Benesse Prize 2016 The chair of the jury, Akiko Miki noted that Yodmanee’s “painterly, sculptural and architectural work creates a unique, breathtaking landscape by mixing microscopic and macroscopic visions with Buddhist cosmology, traditional and modern techniques, and natural and artificial materials. We look forward to seeing how her critical sensibility could provide profound insights about human civilization, natural conditions, and spirituality in our contemporary age in the insular context of the Seto Inland Sea.”
Pannaphan Yodmanee, Aftermath 2016. Yodmanee’s work Aftermath 2016, which is spread in a large gallery space evokes the atmosphere of an apocalypse. Crumbling architecture alongside murals painted in blue and gold, and symbols of Buddhism all combine to bring together traditional Thai art practices like mural painting with the Buddhist belief of temporality and suffering.
Zulkifle Mahmod: Winner of the Soichiro Fukutake Prize 2016 Mahmod’s work Sonic Reflections, 2016 collects the voices of the multiple migrant communities that make up Singapore and presents them in a novel way. Among conventional sound devices like tweeters and microphones, the artist used 146 wok lids to present his work, alluding to the commonality between the various communities that reside here. Mahmod has also represented Singapore in the 2007 Venice Biennale.
Zulkifle Mahmod, Sonic Reflection, 2016 Founder and President, Benesse Art Site Naoshima, Soichiro Fukutake commented that “I was deeply impressed by this particular work, skillfully incorporating voices and sounds collected from Asian migrant communities in contemporary Singapore. It is contemplative, triggering sensorial and poetic reflections on various social territories and the human environment, as well as on our lives.” The prize entitles Mr. Mahmod to a visit to Naoshima and the neighbouring islands.
Both works can be seen at the Singapore Art Museum as part of the Singapore Biennale 2016 until end February.
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Art Stage: Artist’s Insight
Art Stage is upon us again. I bring you my top picks below including the insightful conversations I had with the artists exhibiting at Art Stage this year:
This year at the entrance we are presented with the UOB Painting of the year showcase – exhibiting this year’s finalists as well as previous finalists. Do make time to talk to the artists, many of whom are present. I was struck by the swirling paint of Pannaphan Yodamanee from Thailand:
Pannaphan Yodamanee, shown at the UOB showcase Also at the UOB wall I had the pleasure of talking with the 2015 Gold Award Winner, Aaron Gan. His new works, requested by UOB especially for this showcase show his progression into iconic images of bird cages and birds, in a traditional watercolour style. He tells me that as well as progressing his new work, it is also a constant theme that he goes back to in his practice as a painter. This is shown alongside his more contemporary use of the traditional watercolour medium: abstract, square brush-stroked designs made up of soft, yet vibrant colours. These, to me, hinting at tumbling, crumbling landscapes, or perhaps cascading piles of biological cells, ideas, dreams, stars.
Aaron Gan, Watercolour on paper, 2016 
Aaron Gan, (detail) Watercolour on paper, 2016 
Aaron Gan, Watercolour on paper, 2016 Another Thai artist Anon Pairot shows a room full of toy guns made from textiles, questioning the growing importance of the military spending in Thailand’s national budget at the expense of social protection such as healthcare and education. At once playful and dangerous, the artist invites you into the forest of guns:
Anon Pairot, ‘Weapons for the Citizen’, 2016, shown at Gallery Seescape The Myanm/art booth is showcasing a talented artist from Myanmar, Emily Phyo. When speaking to Emily she told me that there are 365 photographs displayed, one for each day over a year, in which she took photographs of strangers, asking them to blindfold themselves and ‘hide’ their identity with a measuring tape. The tape displays that individual’s age, and the images become a curious archive of faces, people, moments, captured secrets and unknowns. Do keep a watch on this exciting gallery who are giving an important platform, long overdue, to the arts in Myanmar.
Emily Phyo at Myanm/art, Art Stage. 
Emily Phyo at Myanm/art, Art Stage. Of course I had to pop by our local Fost Gallery, and was pleased to spot one of my favourite artists, Wyn-Lyn Tan with an evocative painting:
Wyn-Lyn Tan, at Fost gallery At the Intersections booth, another selection of exciting artists from Myanmar are being showcased. Speaking with the artist Chan Aye who has used these bells and objects from Burmese temples and everyday life to create an installation, I could feel that poetry and music run deep in his visual works. As the bells chimed, he passed me one of his poems, translated into English, which I add below:
Chan Aye, (detail) shown at Intersections, at Art Stage 
Chan Aye, shown at Intersections, at Art Stage 
Chan Aye, shown at Intersections, at Art Stage Next I visited Gallery Sun, to meet Huang I-Ming,renowned for his creative calligraphic and ink was artworks in Taiwan. His works resemble both painting and calligraphy, playing with both histories and narratives:
Huang I-Ming stands in front of his artworks, shown at Gallery Sun at Art Stage 
Huang I-Ming artworks, shown at Gallery Sun at Art Stage 
Huang I-Ming artworks, shown at Gallery Sun at Art Stage
Huang I-Ming artworks, shown at Gallery Sun at Art Stage An unexpected surprise lay in wait at the other end of the collectors Stage – Moffat Takadiwa from Zimbabwe has created this massive wall sculpture, which looks like stone or mosaic. However, the artist is uses the most unexpected material: keys from an old-style, chunky grey keyboard. He has said that he used these found materials back in 2007 because there was a lack of traditional materials available. It also it highlights the dirty, dusty environment, plagued with a culture of waste that Harare had become at the time.
Moffat Takadiwa, Collectors stage He plays with ours senses, bringing us close and making us stand back. Many visitors will miss the real impact of this work if they walk by at a distance – as ever, my advice is to always zoom in on an artwork. In this case, as shown by the image below, it’s imperative,
Moffat Takadiwa, (detail), Collectors stage Over at the Collectors Stage, understated but iconic, I stumbled across the Remember me Series by Steve McQueen. See if you can spot the typo… whether it is deliberate or not, that piece has become a more unique version
Remember Me, Steve McQueen (from the Michael Tay and Talenia Phua Gajardo collection) Italian sculptor and spirit ranger Robert Pan, also at Gallery Sun, caught my eye with these colourful panels:
Artwork by Robert Pan, 2014-2016, Gallery Sun at Art Stage 
Artwork by Robert Pan, 2014-2016, Gallery Sun at Art Stage Visit the fair yourself – Southeast Asia’s flagship art fair, opens its seventh edition from 12 to 15 January 2017 (Vernissage on 11 January) at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.
12 – 15 Jan 2017, Sands Expo & Convention Centre, 10 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018956