When in Singapore: Check out Filipino art at the Singapore Art Museum

Pinoy art rocks!

The Singapore Art Museum, aka SAM, is quite a young museum. What I love most about this institution is the fact it focuses on the preservation and presentation of art in Singapore and the Southeast Asian region. To date, it houses eight thousand pieces in its collection, considered one of the world’s largest public collections of modern and contemporary artworks by regional artists.

Knowing how talented and lauded internationally the Filipinos are, with their works sought after in esteemed art auctions, should I be surprised that I come across Pinoy artworks in the collection of this gallery?

In a recent exhibition, the Singapore Art Museum highlighted more than 70 iconic works by 54 Southeast Asian artists in "Negotiating Home, History and Nation: Two Decades of Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia 1991-2011." The curated artists presented their insights on the region’s recent political and social developments via a broad range of artistic formats, from photography to installation art. 

Of this mounting of regional art, the Singapore Art Museum explains, “The exhibition positions Southeast Asian art in a way that highlights its independence from perceived Western cultural hegemony.” 

Four artists in the list are Filipinos.

One installation rings out Filipino representation. In the tower of books, a few titles like Rizal and Kangkong are dead giveaway indicators that the artist may be Filipino. The label confirmed it. More surprisingly, the artist is from my hometown. One proud Dabawenyo here.

From Davao City: Briccio Santos, Philippines. His artwork: Heritage Tunnel, 2009. Books, mirror, wood, 244 x 99 cm. “Laden with a multitude of books, it is apt that the genesis of the Heritage Tunnel is to be found in the world’s oldest book, the Chinese I-Ching, also known as the Book of Changes. Within this ancient book of divination, the well is a powerful symbol of a permanence that stands outside the confines of time and space. The image of the well signifies endless depth, but the Heritage Tunnel both descends and ascends upwards to infinity. Conveying an impression of an endless tunnel of books, it suggests that heritage is a corpus of knowledge built with the infinite accretion of history, meaning and memory. But similar to the optical device employed by the work, it also hints that the notion of limitless knowledge is more illusory than real.”

Alfredo & Isabel Aquilizan’s 2009 Wings used rubber thongs collected from Singapore prisons, fiberglass, metal and stainless steel. This husband and wife’s artwork “speaks of the identity and hopes of a community, specifically that of the inmates of the Singapore Prisons where the slippers came from.”

Jose Legaspi’s untitled four works of pastel on paper (100 x 70 cm each) are “deeply autobiographical.” He draws upon real-life events of a difficult childhood and exposes human cruelty, hypocrisy and its blatant indifference to pain.

Another striking work is by Jose Tence Ruiz. His 2008 Paraisado Sorbetero (Orange) presented in mixed media (198 x 122 x 198 cm) melded two images, the humble Filipino kariton and the iconic architecture of a gothic cathedral, into a single figure. The result represents the striking contrast of poverty and wealth prevalent in Filipino society. It also conveys an image of “Church on wheels,” described as “In a predominantly Catholic country that often sees lavish displays of wealth and the ostentatious riches of the church, the work can be read as a harsh critique of organized religion.”

Art is very subjective. In a masterpiece created from inspiration, the artist may be successful in conveying his message or not. What's quite certain is that art will always evoke an opinion from its viewers. Personally, I love anything that's pleasing to my eyes. 

When you’re from the Philippines and visiting Singapore, take time to meet SAM—the Singapore Art Museum. More than a stimulating experience, you’d be proud to be Asian, proud to be Pinoy!