Subversive art has a chequered history in Singapore, but Iola Lenzi finds that the edgier side of contemporary is blossoming thanks to independent artist collectives 

Few are unaware of Singapore’s aggressive campaign in the last few years to assert its identity as an international arts hub. Courting the tourist dollar as well as worldly cachet, the Government has spent a fortune on increasingly prestigious international art events, such as the Singapore Biennale, as well as the creation of state-of-the-art museums. 


Trouble in Paradise A unique take on terrorism took root at Your MOTHER in 2006

But what of Singapore’s more experimental and edgy contemporary art? Due to its provocative social content, rawness, challenging form (think video and performance) or lack of decorative attributes, it rarely finds its way into the slick, money-making galleries. Carefully watched as recently as 15 years ago for its potential for subversion – following Joseph Ng’s infamous pubic hair performance, performance art was banned in 1994 and only re-emerged in 2003 – local alternative art can now be found in an eclectic array of offbeat spaces dispersed around the city. 

As we’ve covered extensively in Time Out, Singapore’s active gallery and auction-house circuit has made the island an attractive shopping venue – yet it is the production of art, not its sale, which fosters the city’s art vibe and voice. As such, the independent spaces that house locally produced work are in some respects more important to Singapore’s long-term cultural development than the commercial galleries. 

Despite now being perceived as useful for selling Singapore overseas, the national authorities have, thankfully, yet to bundle potentially subversive contemporary art into a single, easily monitored institution. A contemporary art museum has been on the cards for a while (it’s even slated to occupy the old Courthouse and be completed by 2012), yet for now there is a lack of centrally determined space devoted to the permanent exhibition of local, contemporary work. And some local artists like it that way. 

‘Institutionalising contemporary art often gives it an official quality that can rob it of its impact,’ says Gilles Massot, a Singapore-based multi-disciplinary artist. ‘In Singapore, where anything to do with the Government means control, independence in the realm of art is highly sought after. Funding, a good venue and publicity are all important, but independence is necessary for longterm credibility.’ 

So where then can this non-mainstream art be found then? In Singapore’s expanding number of independent art spaces, of course. ‘Independent art spaces are particularly important in a highly centralised and tightly controlled place like Singapore, where artists tend to work in the shadows, underground, for fear of censorship,’ says performance and visual artist Jeremy Hiah, who runs the alternative venue Your MOTHER Gallery. ‘They are the physical outlet for autonomous expression. Without them, the cutting-edge art would still exist, but it would not be accessible to the general public. Independent spaces are responsible for a radical change here, because they take the exclusivity out of contemporary art.’ 

The grandaddy of local fringe spaces is undoubtedly The Substation. Despite being partially state-funded, the crossdisciplinary institution has managed, since opening in 1990, to maintain its integrity. Visual art, readings, music, dance, theatre and performance are all on view and decidedly experimental here, though the for-hire gallery sometimes acts as a sales venue for less-inspiring art. 

Since the Substation’s pioneering beginnings, many other alternative, often non-profit, spaces have emerged. One of the most established is Plastique Kinetic Worms, which is ideologically related to Artists Village, Singapore’s original multi-disciplinary contemporary artists’ collective. Initially based in Chinatown, but for the last few years occupying two neighbouring pre-war shophouses in Little India, the non-profit artists’ co-op PKW spearheaded the fringe art community’s move to the Serangoon Road area, one of Singapore’s few remaining un-tarted-up neighborhoods. Though the ten-year-old PKW is scheduled to close in its current form in March, the space and its ideology of inclusiveness (for both artists and the curious) and experimentation have left an indelible mark on the Singapore arts scene; some of Plastique’s founding members, including Vincent Leow, are now among the nation’s most internationally recognised contemporary practitioners. 

In the wake of PKW, other venues have sprung up in Little India. Your MOTHER, operating in a row house shared with South Asian foreign workers, opened in 2004. ‘The motivation was partially financial,’ says Hiah. ‘It costs a lot to show in a commercial gallery, and performance art is hard to sell, so most places won’t touch it. I started my own place to show my work, and that of other locals. I don’t charge rent, but if work sells, the artists give me 20 per cent to help run the space.’ 

Another recent addition to the neighbourhood is Post-Museum, opened in 2007. Run and owned by Jennifer Teo (who’s on the P-10 curatorial team), Post-Museum is a gallery which partially supports itself by operating a vegetarian café next door to the exhibition venue. ‘We aim to be community-oriented,’ says Teo. ‘We show a wide spectrum of practices beyond the conventionally understood definition of contemporary art and, in so doing, hope to involve a broad range of people in our project. This inclusiveness is the way forward for developing this aspect of culture in Singapore.’ 

Last but not least are Sculpture Square and 72-13. The first is the only alternative space in Singapore devoted to the exhibition of three-dimensional art. The second is a collection of studio spaces established in 2005 in an old rice warehouse next to a theatre company. The space features artist residencies and multi-disciplinary work, with an emphasis on performance. 

Though not exclusively devoted to the display of local art, Singapore’s essentially non-commercial alternative spaces show a fair bit of it, and thus offer an accurate snapshot of the city’s lesser-known experimental voice. Left to flourish and expand, the city’s independent art scene will take the nation beyond mere art-trading hub and into the realm of credible global art cities. 

The alternative to the alternatives
Indie art spaces are one thing – check out the goods at these hybrid, unique spaces 

La Libreria 
64A Queen St, 6337 1346, www.lalibreria.com.sg 
This is a non-profit exhibition room attached to the artists’-books bookseller, which was opened in 2004 by a Japanese book artist. It features an eclectic cross-section of art forms, including ceramic art, textiles, prints, drawing, painting and installation. 

Open Studio 
Marina Mandarin Hotel 6 Raffles Blvd, 6845 1000 
The fifth-floor gallery of the Marina Mandarin hotel, known as the Open Studio, is devoted to the display of local practices. 

The Photographic Society of Singapore 
30 Selegie Rd, 6334 3361, www.pss1950.org  
This long-standing exhibition space is housed in an extraordinary threestorey art deco building close to Little India. It originated in the early 1950s as the Singapore Camera Club and shows a broad variety of photography. 

Rojak 
rojak.farm.sg
Those seeking a more active taste of the Singapore art scene should find Rojak, a travelling get-together of visual practitioners, architects, filmmakers, graphic designers and others. Visit the website for more details.