I was invited to be a panelist for the SeptFest Art Conference, " Multi-culturalism: In practice and on paper", held at The Substation, September, 1997. I went in as the yellow man in yellow working over-alls. After reading a prepared text, I followed up with some short actions, including, making a drawing on the floor with rice grains, then washing my body in a tub of water. I filled up some small bottles with the yellow water from the bath tub and gave them to the audience, saying, "I'm a water-colorist too!".
Below is the text that I wrote and read at the conference:-
Journey of a Yellow Man No.11: Multi-culturalism,
text for SeptFest Art Conference, " Multi-culturalism: In practice and on paper"
I would like to preface this with an explanation of presenting myself as a yellow man.
It is not to give myself an unfair advantage in a conference where everyone is just reading a prepared text. I am neither a wordsmith nor an academic and have a preference to using visual art as my main means of expression and communication. I will try to stick as closely as possible to the written text as far as the rules and decorum of such a conference goes although I find using words alone to be cumbersome to my temperament.
In fact after volunteering to take part in the conference I considered withdrawing many times but decided against it as I felt that visual artists in Singapore already have such little representations in such dialogues, as they tend to shy away from speaking and writing publicly. Added to that I must admit that I am no Arundhati Roy, the first time published highly acclaimed author of "The God of small things" who said that she did not change a word she wrote as to her writing is like breathing. If that were true then I must admit that I am still learning how to breathe as I struggled with this short text making various revisions.
Singapore as a social group has been defined by consequences of historical and political changes unavoidably linked to racial and ethnic sensitivities. We made the pledge to build a multiracial society ever since young in school. There has been an increased use of the term multiculturalism, which is a positive development as we live in an increasingly complex and plural society.
Visual art representations are an important component of symbolizing and continuing a society's communal bonds. The manner in which representations take place in terms of production, selection for exhibition, and their consequent reception produce a certain view of a society's history and direction. Multi- culturalism is often cited as a major reason for our caution, control and censorship of the production and presentation of the arts here.
The most recent survey of Singapore's art history was that in "A Century of Singapore Art" a component of the exhibition "Modernity and Beyond" at the Singapore Art Museum held in early 1996. In "Channels & Confluences" published in conjunction with this exhibition, Kwok Klan Chow mentioned that multiculturalism first became an important theme in Singapore art in 1949 with the formation of the Singapore Art Society. (Pg. 39,115) We could perhaps gain a better perspective by highlighting some of these historical beginnings.
The 1950's saw an experimentation informed by travels to Ball and reconciling the influences of east and west which was accompanied by a development of an art market. The continued influence of China gave rise to social realist intentions as seen in the formation of the Equator Ail Society. This found a direct opposition in the Modem Art Society where Ho Ho Ying expressed some pertinent criticisms and analyses relevant to their different approaches. At the same time watercolor began to take a prominent profile. By this time, formalism became a major link to the idea of multi-culturalism and internationalism especially through abstractions. The late 60's and 70's saw a significant impact of artists returning from studies in Europe and North America. Many artists also began to work in relative isolation as we approach the 80’s, which saw various new departures where artists begin to adopt new strategies beyond the 2-dimensional painting and 3-dimensional sculpture.
This may be an over-simplified summary but it gives an idea of the development, which leads up to current trends and tendencies in visual art culture here.
Singapore Art 97 was an exhibition held recently at Suntec City to showcase visual art trends and standards, officially said to be the most comprehensive exhibition and forum on art in Singapore today. If so, inclusions and exclusions of works in such a national exhibition have pertinent implications to our position on multi-culturalism and pluralism.
A small section was devoted to invited artists, all past national cultural award winners
. The bulk of the artists for the exhibition were selected from an open submission. There were 504 works by 316 artists who were selected by 4 panels of judges under a loose classification of 2-dimensional, 3- dimensional, photography and Chinese painting & calligraphy.
Where as 27 national award winners were privileged to participate automatically without discrimination at the Singapore Art 97, artists in the open section had to pay a hefty $80 if selected to exhibit. To allow past award winners’ automatic participation in a show that proclaims to show current trends precludes a continued inquiry into the development and contemporaneity of their current work. Awards have been given to show appreciation and recognition for the work that has been done by artists. Automatic inclusion in such an exhibition creates a privileged class of artists who are exempted from further critical reassessment.
Within an economically stable society where food queues are seen not for rations but for new expensive restaurants serving exotic cuisine, yet we charge the artist in the open section, an exorbitant entry fee to offer their work for our free enjoyment. Perhaps artists' productions are not seen as intrinsic potential contributions to our cultural capital but merely goods to be put up for possible sale as the trade fair atmosphere of the exhibition space seem to suggest.
Although there had been an increase in 3-dimensional works where installations were erroneously said to be included for the first time, a good majority of the works was watercolors and Chinese paintings & calligraphy. The closeness in which the paintings were hung resulted in an overcrowded viewing. This could either be a result of inadequate exhibition finesse or a deliberate act of a curatorship exercising populism under the constraints of a limited budget. If the latter, the engineered overproduction and over representation of certain types of images as opposed to the suppression or censorship of others also reveals certain social implications.
Installation and performance art enjoys a favorable prominence in global visual art culture today. It is used extensively by artists and promoted vigorously by organizers at various international art events that I participated in. Many felt that painting and sculpture, though remaining important, were not able to give as fresh and engaging an exploration of current issues in art. This contrasts greatly with the resistant attitude towards pro-actively supporting these genres in official art spaces and schools here.
The comparatively large Chinese painting & calligraphy representation seems to signal an obsessive preoccupation with ethnicity. An underlying trait which is not only due to the ethnic Chinese majority but also a new nation-state eager to link itself historically to an immemorial past. Singapore as an independent republic founded in 1965 is immediately coupled with a five thousand years history. A point of anchorage which tips more heavily towards the "where you're from" as opposed to "where you're at" double bind of a citizenry still caught up with a migrant mentality.
The way that Singapore Art 97 was loosely categorized by way of dimensions and medium of works contrasts greatly with the thematic curatorship encountered elsewhere. Is this merely due to the elusive diversity of art production here or the divisive views amongst panel judges? Could this also indicate deliberate neutrality or unwillingness for a conceptual interpretation of the productions complicated by sensitivity for fairness in a plural society?
I sit here as a yellow man, a persona I have created and used in my series of work: "Journey of a yellow man" which was initiated in 1992 in London. The Journey alludes to the Diaspora and migration of people, which is increasingly prevalent in this century. This has affected our identities, which have become ambivalent and uncertain. I take on the persona of a yellow man, which is a self-conscious reference to my ethnicity initially. It being poster color which is put on and washed off, problematising my racial identity with a loud pronounced yellow which is at once noticeable as well as tenuous.
The yellow man has taken on various other implications in different situations. I~ India the yellow man was mistaken as a sadhu or shaman, in Thailand there were clashing interpretations between traditional references to religion, monarchy and modern dangers and illicit sex. Yet at other times the yellow man is perceived as an extra-human or extra-terrestrial being. In each performance there is also a sub-theme, which I engage with to open up discourse and dialogue on current issues, which contributes towards new meanings beyond racial and ethnic grounds.
The artist as producer is informed by various experiences both personal as well as social which seeks its balance as they manifest them in the art produced. It is a continuous process which builds on ever more with every new experiences that we may encounter. The present state of globalization takes place with an increasing dominance of capitalism and bureaucratic urban industrialization and information technology. Essentially, post modernism is eclectic, factional and pluralistic in contrast to new nation-states seeking unity, identity and the preservation of heritage.
The official agenda in Singapore of asserting Asian values and identity within a multi-cultural society should not preclude the acceptance and promotion of new strategies in all making. In "The Potential of Asian Thought" a contemporary art symposium held in Tokyo, Oct 1994, three artists spoke Zulklfli Mohammed from Malaysia, Cal Kuo Ciang, Chinese living in Japan and Miyajima Tatsuo from Japan. It is interesting to note the key differences and similarities in perspectives of these three individuals with respect to the their backgrounds and may help inform our attitude here.
Mohammed's concern was that of maintaining his cultural identity as a member of a country newly defined within a context of post-colonialism as well as a less developed economy. Although Cai's works continues to deal with Chinese traditional philosophy and culture, he uses contemporary strategies in installations and performance. Miyajima Tatsuo carrying a scientific predilection with a self-conscious Japanese identity recommended a global perspective based on universal ideals like those- of the United Nations. While maintaining a keen awareness of their Asian identity, all of them felt a genuine concern of the implications of working in the midst of globalization and the predominance of western culture.
Contemporary art are reflections of old human dilemmas in current human context. Within the discourse of identity are sensitivities, tensions and contentions which art and artists cannot afford to avoid safeguarding a continual growth in our humanity. We cannot remain nostalgically attached to the past for the solutions we seek although our memories and history are sources of knowledge and doubts we have acquired and cannot abolish. We have acquired much knowledge which we are unwilling to forget but we must continue to try to understand more than we do now, not by accumulating more facts but by deepening and broadening our perspective in order to steady our grasp on art.
Yong tau foo/ mee goreng satay / baked potato / wan tan mee / roti prata / mee rebus / chicken chop carrot cake / soup kambeng / lontong/ hamburger....
Perhaps that is the multi-culturalism as is probably well understood and widely exposed in Singapore. Currently at Documenta X in Kassel, Germany, an international art event, Matthew Ngui from Singapore, is presenting an installation and performance where the viewers can order delicious "poh piah amongst other things". Food has been used in various ways in contemporary art, but coming from Singapore, I immediately identify with Matthew Ngui's strategy. Ngui's work confronts various cultural behavioral issues especially that of representation, while making use of food as a working material. Food after all is a basic need for all organic beings but besides that it is also a cultural manifestation, which makes us human. A physicality for us to see, touch, smell, tastes and perhaps inspires speech and thought as well as emotions. Food however is not the only manifestation of art and culture. Our hawker centers and restaurants may boast a wide range of ethnic foods, but multi culturalism in other arenas may not be as smoothly and easily represented.
In the face of pluralism, the discourse of multiculturalism demands a wider perspective beyond race and ethnicity. It is a cross-cutting and shifting of identification which expands to include class-stratification, language, religion, gender, sexual preference, politics, science, ecology. These should not be excluded in its critical production and survey of art within a society, which aspires to be multi-cultural as well as plural.
Below is the text that I wrote and read at the conference:-
Journey of a Yellow Man No.11: Multi-culturalism,
text for SeptFest Art Conference, " Multi-culturalism: In practice and on paper"
I would like to preface this with an explanation of presenting myself as a yellow man.
It is not to give myself an unfair advantage in a conference where everyone is just reading a prepared text. I am neither a wordsmith nor an academic and have a preference to using visual art as my main means of expression and communication. I will try to stick as closely as possible to the written text as far as the rules and decorum of such a conference goes although I find using words alone to be cumbersome to my temperament.
In fact after volunteering to take part in the conference I considered withdrawing many times but decided against it as I felt that visual artists in Singapore already have such little representations in such dialogues, as they tend to shy away from speaking and writing publicly. Added to that I must admit that I am no Arundhati Roy, the first time published highly acclaimed author of "The God of small things" who said that she did not change a word she wrote as to her writing is like breathing. If that were true then I must admit that I am still learning how to breathe as I struggled with this short text making various revisions.
Singapore as a social group has been defined by consequences of historical and political changes unavoidably linked to racial and ethnic sensitivities. We made the pledge to build a multiracial society ever since young in school. There has been an increased use of the term multiculturalism, which is a positive development as we live in an increasingly complex and plural society.
Visual art representations are an important component of symbolizing and continuing a society's communal bonds. The manner in which representations take place in terms of production, selection for exhibition, and their consequent reception produce a certain view of a society's history and direction. Multi- culturalism is often cited as a major reason for our caution, control and censorship of the production and presentation of the arts here.
The most recent survey of Singapore's art history was that in "A Century of Singapore Art" a component of the exhibition "Modernity and Beyond" at the Singapore Art Museum held in early 1996. In "Channels & Confluences" published in conjunction with this exhibition, Kwok Klan Chow mentioned that multiculturalism first became an important theme in Singapore art in 1949 with the formation of the Singapore Art Society. (Pg. 39,115) We could perhaps gain a better perspective by highlighting some of these historical beginnings.
The 1950's saw an experimentation informed by travels to Ball and reconciling the influences of east and west which was accompanied by a development of an art market. The continued influence of China gave rise to social realist intentions as seen in the formation of the Equator Ail Society. This found a direct opposition in the Modem Art Society where Ho Ho Ying expressed some pertinent criticisms and analyses relevant to their different approaches. At the same time watercolor began to take a prominent profile. By this time, formalism became a major link to the idea of multi-culturalism and internationalism especially through abstractions. The late 60's and 70's saw a significant impact of artists returning from studies in Europe and North America. Many artists also began to work in relative isolation as we approach the 80’s, which saw various new departures where artists begin to adopt new strategies beyond the 2-dimensional painting and 3-dimensional sculpture.
This may be an over-simplified summary but it gives an idea of the development, which leads up to current trends and tendencies in visual art culture here.
Singapore Art 97 was an exhibition held recently at Suntec City to showcase visual art trends and standards, officially said to be the most comprehensive exhibition and forum on art in Singapore today. If so, inclusions and exclusions of works in such a national exhibition have pertinent implications to our position on multi-culturalism and pluralism.
A small section was devoted to invited artists, all past national cultural award winners
. The bulk of the artists for the exhibition were selected from an open submission. There were 504 works by 316 artists who were selected by 4 panels of judges under a loose classification of 2-dimensional, 3- dimensional, photography and Chinese painting & calligraphy.
Where as 27 national award winners were privileged to participate automatically without discrimination at the Singapore Art 97, artists in the open section had to pay a hefty $80 if selected to exhibit. To allow past award winners’ automatic participation in a show that proclaims to show current trends precludes a continued inquiry into the development and contemporaneity of their current work. Awards have been given to show appreciation and recognition for the work that has been done by artists. Automatic inclusion in such an exhibition creates a privileged class of artists who are exempted from further critical reassessment.
Within an economically stable society where food queues are seen not for rations but for new expensive restaurants serving exotic cuisine, yet we charge the artist in the open section, an exorbitant entry fee to offer their work for our free enjoyment. Perhaps artists' productions are not seen as intrinsic potential contributions to our cultural capital but merely goods to be put up for possible sale as the trade fair atmosphere of the exhibition space seem to suggest.
Although there had been an increase in 3-dimensional works where installations were erroneously said to be included for the first time, a good majority of the works was watercolors and Chinese paintings & calligraphy. The closeness in which the paintings were hung resulted in an overcrowded viewing. This could either be a result of inadequate exhibition finesse or a deliberate act of a curatorship exercising populism under the constraints of a limited budget. If the latter, the engineered overproduction and over representation of certain types of images as opposed to the suppression or censorship of others also reveals certain social implications.
Installation and performance art enjoys a favorable prominence in global visual art culture today. It is used extensively by artists and promoted vigorously by organizers at various international art events that I participated in. Many felt that painting and sculpture, though remaining important, were not able to give as fresh and engaging an exploration of current issues in art. This contrasts greatly with the resistant attitude towards pro-actively supporting these genres in official art spaces and schools here.
The comparatively large Chinese painting & calligraphy representation seems to signal an obsessive preoccupation with ethnicity. An underlying trait which is not only due to the ethnic Chinese majority but also a new nation-state eager to link itself historically to an immemorial past. Singapore as an independent republic founded in 1965 is immediately coupled with a five thousand years history. A point of anchorage which tips more heavily towards the "where you're from" as opposed to "where you're at" double bind of a citizenry still caught up with a migrant mentality.
The way that Singapore Art 97 was loosely categorized by way of dimensions and medium of works contrasts greatly with the thematic curatorship encountered elsewhere. Is this merely due to the elusive diversity of art production here or the divisive views amongst panel judges? Could this also indicate deliberate neutrality or unwillingness for a conceptual interpretation of the productions complicated by sensitivity for fairness in a plural society?
I sit here as a yellow man, a persona I have created and used in my series of work: "Journey of a yellow man" which was initiated in 1992 in London. The Journey alludes to the Diaspora and migration of people, which is increasingly prevalent in this century. This has affected our identities, which have become ambivalent and uncertain. I take on the persona of a yellow man, which is a self-conscious reference to my ethnicity initially. It being poster color which is put on and washed off, problematising my racial identity with a loud pronounced yellow which is at once noticeable as well as tenuous.
The yellow man has taken on various other implications in different situations. I~ India the yellow man was mistaken as a sadhu or shaman, in Thailand there were clashing interpretations between traditional references to religion, monarchy and modern dangers and illicit sex. Yet at other times the yellow man is perceived as an extra-human or extra-terrestrial being. In each performance there is also a sub-theme, which I engage with to open up discourse and dialogue on current issues, which contributes towards new meanings beyond racial and ethnic grounds.
The artist as producer is informed by various experiences both personal as well as social which seeks its balance as they manifest them in the art produced. It is a continuous process which builds on ever more with every new experiences that we may encounter. The present state of globalization takes place with an increasing dominance of capitalism and bureaucratic urban industrialization and information technology. Essentially, post modernism is eclectic, factional and pluralistic in contrast to new nation-states seeking unity, identity and the preservation of heritage.
The official agenda in Singapore of asserting Asian values and identity within a multi-cultural society should not preclude the acceptance and promotion of new strategies in all making. In "The Potential of Asian Thought" a contemporary art symposium held in Tokyo, Oct 1994, three artists spoke Zulklfli Mohammed from Malaysia, Cal Kuo Ciang, Chinese living in Japan and Miyajima Tatsuo from Japan. It is interesting to note the key differences and similarities in perspectives of these three individuals with respect to the their backgrounds and may help inform our attitude here.
Mohammed's concern was that of maintaining his cultural identity as a member of a country newly defined within a context of post-colonialism as well as a less developed economy. Although Cai's works continues to deal with Chinese traditional philosophy and culture, he uses contemporary strategies in installations and performance. Miyajima Tatsuo carrying a scientific predilection with a self-conscious Japanese identity recommended a global perspective based on universal ideals like those- of the United Nations. While maintaining a keen awareness of their Asian identity, all of them felt a genuine concern of the implications of working in the midst of globalization and the predominance of western culture.
Contemporary art are reflections of old human dilemmas in current human context. Within the discourse of identity are sensitivities, tensions and contentions which art and artists cannot afford to avoid safeguarding a continual growth in our humanity. We cannot remain nostalgically attached to the past for the solutions we seek although our memories and history are sources of knowledge and doubts we have acquired and cannot abolish. We have acquired much knowledge which we are unwilling to forget but we must continue to try to understand more than we do now, not by accumulating more facts but by deepening and broadening our perspective in order to steady our grasp on art.
Yong tau foo/ mee goreng satay / baked potato / wan tan mee / roti prata / mee rebus / chicken chop carrot cake / soup kambeng / lontong/ hamburger....
Perhaps that is the multi-culturalism as is probably well understood and widely exposed in Singapore. Currently at Documenta X in Kassel, Germany, an international art event, Matthew Ngui from Singapore, is presenting an installation and performance where the viewers can order delicious "poh piah amongst other things". Food has been used in various ways in contemporary art, but coming from Singapore, I immediately identify with Matthew Ngui's strategy. Ngui's work confronts various cultural behavioral issues especially that of representation, while making use of food as a working material. Food after all is a basic need for all organic beings but besides that it is also a cultural manifestation, which makes us human. A physicality for us to see, touch, smell, tastes and perhaps inspires speech and thought as well as emotions. Food however is not the only manifestation of art and culture. Our hawker centers and restaurants may boast a wide range of ethnic foods, but multi culturalism in other arenas may not be as smoothly and easily represented.
In the face of pluralism, the discourse of multiculturalism demands a wider perspective beyond race and ethnicity. It is a cross-cutting and shifting of identification which expands to include class-stratification, language, religion, gender, sexual preference, politics, science, ecology. These should not be excluded in its critical production and survey of art within a society, which aspires to be multi-cultural as well as plural.