ABOUT NEW ON DISPLAY EXPLORE THE EXHIBITION PROGRAMMES AND PERSPECTIVES DALAM SOUTHEAST ASIA CREDITS
Housed in the former Supreme Court building, the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery presents over 300 artworks that trace the shared artistic impulses across Southeast Asia.
Starting in the mid-19th century, the exhibition navigates the art history of Southeast Asia as one that is characterised by a continuous encounter with the new as the region’s artists negotiated the meaning of art and sought to reinvent vernacular expressions and aesthetics.
Presented in a largely chronological sequence and punctuated by key turning points in artistic sensibilities, the exhibition also identifies how art is inseparably linked to the region’s tumultuous social and political history.
The title of the exhibition, Between Declarations and Dreams, is credited to one of Indonesia’s most cherished poets, Chairil Anwar. In his poem of 1948, "Krawang-Bekasi”, Chairil Anwar laments the massacre of villagers in West Java by the Dutch colonial forces, giving vent to the desire for national independence at the time. This line may also be said to encapsulate the experiences of many artists in the region, caught as they are between declarations and dreams, the personal and the political.
The curatorial narrative explores four main themes places in a broadly chronological sequence, each one critically examining the shared artistic impulse of the region for each period: Authority and Anxiety, Imagining Country and Self, Manifesting the Nation, and Re:Defining Art.
This exhibition contains some artworks with potentially sensitive imagery. Visitor discretion is advised. The UOB Southeast Asia Gallery is made possible through a gift by UOB.
UOB Southeast Asia Gallery 7 will be closed from 20 - 31 July 2024 and will reopen on 1 August 2024.
NEW ON DISPLAY
Anonymous artist, likely French
Profils Laotiens, Luong-Prabang
1918−1919. Pencil and collage on paper in bound notebook, 14 x 22 x 1 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Saya Aye
Royal Family Portrait with Moustached Minister
1918. Oil on zinc, 67 x 107.5 x 4.5 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Lucy Davis
Jalan Jati (Teak Road)
2012. Hand-animated film, single channel, 16:9 format, colour and sound, 23 min 23 sec. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
1943–1945. Oil on board, 28 x 113 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Emiria Sunassa
Bahaya Belakang Teratai (Danger Lurking Behind the Lotus)
1946–1948. Oil on canvas, 89.2 x 58.6 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Jim Supangkat
Kamar Ibu dan Anak (Bedroom of Mother and Her Child)
1975, remade 2007–2013. Wood, found objects, metal, clay and paint, dimensions variable. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Rong Wong-Savun
Din Daeng Dump Site
1957, printed 2017. Gelatin silver prints on paper, 25.5 x 25.3 cm each. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Tan Lip Seng
Industrial Century
1963. Photograph, silver gelatin print on paper, 38 x 30.5 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
1957. Oil on canvas, 62.5 x 93 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
F.X. Harsono
What Would You Do If These Crackers Were Real Pistols?
1977–2018. Crackers, wooden table, chair, book, pen and instructions. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Po Po
Painting for the Blind #3
1986, remade 2015. Oil on canvas, enamel and nails, 78 x 78.5 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
Vann Nath
The Commandant, also known as Painting Pol Pot for Duch
1996. Acrylic on canvas, 98 x 142 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore.
EXPLORE THE EXHIBITION
AUTHORITY AND
ANXIETY IMAGINING COUNTRY
AND SELF MANIFESTING THE
NATION DALAM SOUTHEAST
ASIA RE:DEFINING
ART
To get a 360 tour around the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery, check out our virtual gallery below!
PROGRAMMES AND PERSPECTIVES
Discover more about the artworks, artists, and other stories from Between Declarations and Dreams in our specially curated selection of magazine articles, videos, and podcasts! Drawn from our regular In Gallery Talks, symposia and other events, the following links present a diverse range of engagements with the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery.
DALAM SOUTHEAST ASIA
Lim Yew Kuan. After Fire. 1966. Woodblock print on paper, 48.4 × 62.5 cm. Collection of National Gallery Singapore. |
Dalam Southeast Asia is a project space located within the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery. Projects presented here ask critical questions and explore lesser-known narratives in Southeast Asian art, while rethinking what a collections-based display is and what it may seek to achieve.
The Malay word dalam means ‘inside’. It is used in everyday parlance to invite someone to enter a place or room. The word also carries esoteric undertones suggesting the ‘deep’ ‘within’ or ‘interior’, that part of the Self that is perceptible but also yet to be revealed
Dalam Southeast Asia presents two projects each year, each offering unique insights into our curators’ ongoing research on the modern art of our region, and on artworks in Singapore’s National Collection.
Click to find out more about our current exhibition showing at Dalam Southeast Asia: Figuring A Scene. |
ACCESS ADVISORY
National Gallery Singapore is committed to creating an inclusive experience for our diverse audiences. Click here for the Exhibition Access Advisory.
CREDITS
The UOB Southeast Asia Gallery is made possible through a gift by UOB.
