Well, so much hype, must go and see the inaugural Singapore Biennale. Yes, it's something every other country has, and we, as a global city, must have too. (Think Singapore Flyer, casino, and even Disneyland >_<)
Anyway, went to one of the bigger venues on a sweltering - and I mean EXTREMELY HOT and HUMID - saturday afternoon (16/9)... Tanglin Camp. Since it is in a ulu location, we took the shuttle bus there. No other visitors except us and a few guides. In fact, there were at least 4 guides on the bus, and only 3 of us "real visitors" :S
So we got to the abandoned army camp. It's wonderfully old and derelict. I loved the place. Quite a good idea to bring art to an otherwise deserted awful lot of space, despite it's location. I must say the $5 admission price was reasonable. There were many interesting artwork and installations. Many "private screening rooms" were converted from the once storerooms and offices.
There is this video/animation by chinese artist, Tang Maohong. Wah, very disturbing images of naked men and woman involved in suggestive, erotic actions. But I LIKE! ... -_- It's like surrealism... disturbingly captivating.
Then got installation pieces. This one by A. Suwage & Titrubi. No, the flower doesn't stink. Can buy them at any price u wanna give. Support talented but poor artists!!!
Another interactive art piece by another Japanese, Hiroyuki Matsukage. U talk into the mike and your imaginary fan club responses by screaming back. The louder noise u make, the louder the screams and cheers. Interesting.... satisfy ur rockstar alter-ego.
There is this one by Japanese artist, Takashi Kuribayashi... Visitors can go to the basement and pop there heads through a hole that leads to aquarium. Whoever's upstairs will then witness a dork's head in a fish tank.
See next entry for the different interpretations of our bizarre singapore icon, the MERLION. Known as mermer in the biennale. My colleague was saying if u say the names of the biennale mascots repetitively, you will be mistaken for a "mentally-challenged" spastic.
"Mocmoc, mermer, mocmoc, mermer, mocmoc, mermer..." *clap ur hands as u repeat the names*
Tanglin camp is worth visiting! Although 1 in 3 works left me wondering. I had a big "HUH?" bouncing above my head throughout the visit. But well, the experience was rather fun and engaging. You might really need a guide to bring you around, unless you have the ability to interpret, say... broken glass on the floor (smashed by the artist on opening day), or a decomposing doufu caught on video.
And damn it, the cordoned off the magnetic wall display. So much has been talked about how u can wear the magnetic jacket and stick urself to the wall. CANNOT PLAY LOR! Need supervision. Wait u bang ur head and die how?
