Everyday Practices

Singapore Art Museum (SAM) unveils its new collection gallery at Tanjong Pagar Distripark with the inaugural exhibition Everyday Practices, reaffirming its commitment to showcasing and curating contemporary art from the National Collection that inspires profound reflections on our world today. Opened to the public on August 30, 2024, the exhibition features works from 19 artists and one artist collective from ten Asian countries.

Everyday Practices draws inspiration from Tehching Hsieh’s seminal work, One Year Performance 1978–1979. Hsieh spent a year in solitary confinement, abstaining from activities such as conversation, reading, writing, listening to the radio, and watching TV. This became the first of Hsieh’s five year-long durational performances which turned the banality of life and the passage of time into both medium and subject for his art.

Building on Hsieh’s philosophy, Everyday Practices brings together artworks that focus on the themes of “everyday,” “repetition,” and “endurance,” showcasing the inventive ways artists have appropriated daily routines and lived experiences to express powerful statements of resilience and endurance in navigating adversity.

Eugene Tan, Chief Executive Officer and Director of SAM says, “The opening of Everyday Practices at SAM’s new collection gallery marks a significant milestone in our efforts to develop and showcase SAM’s critical collection of contemporary art. By deepening research on and expanding the collection scope of artistic practices from the 2000s in Southeast Asia and beyond, SAM aims to draw out narratives and perspectives that highlight the region’s diversity and connection with the global. We look forward to welcoming visitors to this new space, where everyone is invited to engage in dialogues with and around art that defines our time.”

Continuing the theme of repetition, Maria Taniguchi’s Untitled features a brickwork pattern covering the entirety of the artwork surface. Each brick, a fundamental element in our daily environment, is painstakingly outlined, reflecting the labour-intensive process that characterises Taniguichi’s work.

Everyday Practices further examines how routine actions and gestures can serve as subtle forms of resistance, revealing how art becomes a tool to navigate challenges amid ongoing global conflicts and humanitarian crises. Htein Lin’s Soap Blocked features hundreds of hand-carved soap blocks, arranged to form a map of his native country Myanmar with red blocks marking the locations where political prisoners have been held, reflecting the collective helplessness experienced under military rule.

Narratives shaped by turbulent political landscapes and histories are also explored. For example, Svay Sareth’s Mon Boulet is a six-day performance involving an excruciating 250-kilometre journey from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh while dragging an 80-kilogram metal ball — symbolic of the heavy personal and historical burdens that still linger in Cambodian society today while underscoring the resilience of the human spirit.

Guo-Liang Tan’s Peripheral Ritual I–III consist of three paintings made on aeronautical fabric, producing seemingly accidental yet meticulously composed stains through various bodily gestures. Tan’s process results in amorphous hues that evoke the appearance of bruised skin, highlighting the physicality of his approach and the negotiations between body, material and laws of physics.

Other artworks also compellingly reflect narratives of endurance in the face of personal adversities. Imhathai Suwatthanasilp’s The Flower Field features meticulously handspun balls of hair donated by cancer patients, survivors, and supporters. This poignant tribute to human resilience carries a powerful message of hope for a brighter future.

Alongside the artists mentioned, the exhibition also includes works by artists such as Min Thein Sung, Minstrel Kuik, Kawita Vatanajyankur, Melati Suryodarmo, Svay Sareth, Moe Satt, Khvay Samnang, Sun Xun, Brenda Fajardo, Wong Hoy Cheong, Tengku Sabri Tengku Ibrahim, Dusadee Huntrakul, Jerome Kugan, and the artist collective, The Propeller Group.

Admission to the exhibition is free until 3 December 2024, after which general admission fees will apply. Alongside the exhibition, audiences can participate in various public programmes, as well as an upcoming publication which will be released next year. More information is available on SAM’s website.