Change is inevitable, especially in this digital age. Even before the pandemic, artists have been exploring new grounds to showcase contemporary art, from posting their masterpieces on social media to creating immersive virtual worlds. And with social distancing in art galleries and museums, you can say that technology is experiencing something of a renaissance.
So where does this leave museums with, in terms of collecting works? Perhaps Singapore Art Museum's latest exhibition Wikicliki: Collecting Habits on an Earth Filled with Smartphones is enough food for thought. Open from April 22 to July 11 at National Gallery Singapore, the exhibition features six artist-curator pairings exploring new strategies needed for the collection of today's contemporary art, which have become varied and dematerialised.
For starters, the name of the exhibition derives from dbbd.sg/wiki, the constantly evolving work by artist Debbie Ding, which traces emerging issues around the internet, technology, design, architecture, linguistics, and varied cultural topics. Other artists joining her in this exhibition are Heman Chong, Chua Chye Teck, Bani Haykal, Amanda Heng, and Charles Lim Yi Yong, who offer their unique insights into a range of issues confronting contemporary practitioners in Singapore.
To showcase the multi-faceted experience of Singapore’s industrial present and technological future, the artists have put together a thought-provoking display of mixed media and sound installations, performance, photography, and video. Continue the conversations about human-machine intimacies, strategies for data collection, and more at the workshops and artist talks that will take place online and at the exhibition gallery. Here's your chance to catch a glimpse into the future of art collection. For more information, visit singaporeartmuseum.sg.
