CONTENT: navigating a point

Curated by

Audrey Wong
Khairuddin Hori

Featuring SMU-ASEAN Artist
Residency Programme participants

Dani Iswardana (Indonesia)
Eko Nugroho (Indonesia)
Rich Streitmatter-Tran (Vietnam)
Som Sutthirat (Thailand)
Shahrul Jamili Miskon (Malaysia)
Kai Lam (Singapore)
Sookoon Ang (Singapore)
Zack Razak (Singapore)
Ming Wong (Singapore)

and SMU student artists

Joyce Koh Bao Zhu
Ooi Tong Si
Sara Ang Mei Xin
Teng Dong Hao
Ephraim Loy Suan Je
Lin Dingxiang
Daniel Yu Wenjie
SMU FLARE

Content: navigating a point is the visual arts feature for SMU's Arts Festival in 2010. Crafted in partnership with our neighbour and contemporary arts center The Substation, the exhibition highlights are artworks from a selection of nine contemporary artists from Southeast Asia. These artworks were developed after the artistsí participation in SMU's first ever residency programme, the SMU-ASEAN Artist Residency Programme.

Derived from the Latin 'navigare' meaning 'to sail', to navigate is fundamentally to locate one's own position against other known locations. In the context of the exhibition, this refers to the artists' navigation to Singapore which is commonly marked as a dot or a 'point' on world maps due to its small size. It also alludes to the artist's personal negotiations and necessary journeys in achieving various objective/s through their art.

Amongst the artists represented at the exhibition are Ming Wong, whose solo installation Life of Imitation at the 53rd Venice Biennale received a Special Mention, Rich Streitmatter-Tran, co-curator of The Mekong at Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art in Brisbane in 2009, and Eko Nugroho, comic book and street artist who is now amongst Indonesiaís pool of internationally prominent contemporary artists.

Exhibition opens on 15 Jan 2010, 7 pm
Venue: SMU T-Junction
Please RSVP by 11 Jan 2010 via email to visual_arts@smu.edu.sg

Exhibition continues:16 Jan - 12 Feb 2010, open daily except public holidays
Venues: SMU Gallery & SMU-ASEAN Artist Residency Studio
Time: 12pm to 8pm

Berita Harian 2, opens 12 Jan 2010

Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (ICAS) co-presents
*Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu;
the surreal
the contemporeal
the cosmoreal

12 JAN, Tuesday
7.30 – 9.30pm
ICA Gallery 2, LASALLE College of the Arts

Symposium
Malay Newspapers: Shifting Functions and Representations

The symposium that will grace the exhibition involves the meeting of minds between artists and academics – a sharing session touching on the function of Malay newspapers in pre-independence and contemporary Singapore.

Panel Exchange

Khairuddin Hori
The birth of Berita Harian 2003 and the need for a legacy of critique in redefining ‘Malay Representation’ in ‘Contemporary Art’

Dr Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied
Malay newspapers in the Life of the Singapore Malays in the pre-independence period

Gene Sha Rudyn
“Berita Harian fails Malay” – coverage of a theatre actor’s work 1998 – 2000 subsequent failure, 2001 -2010

Dr Maznah Mohamad
Malay Newspapers Today: A Misfit?


Moderator:
Adeline Kueh (Senior Lecturer of LASALLE College of the Arts)

Adeline’s previous stints include being the Director of the Intermedia Lab with the Office of Research & Creative Industries, as well as Director of Studies, Art Theory & Art History in the college.

Rooted in cultural studies, her research interests include notions of monstrosity within Southeast Asian contexts, smart fashion, architecture and the future of cinema. She has chaired and presented at a number of cultural studies conferences in UK, Australia, Finland and Hungary.


Speakers:
Zaki Razak (Curator of Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu)

Originally trained in graphic design, Zaki made a switch and later graduated with BA (Hons) in Fine Arts from the University of Huddersfield, UK in 2006. To date, he has undergone residency at The Land Foundation in Chiang Mai, Thailand, curated an exhibition at the National Youth Council, Singapore and exhibited at 1a Space Gallery, Hong Kong.

He is currently completing a Master of Fine Arts programme at LASALLE College of the Arts.


Dr Syed Muhd Khairudin Aljunied (Co-curator of Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu, Assistant Professor at Department of Malay Studies, NUS)


Much of Khairudin’s work has revolved around the history of Muslims in Southeast Asia, with a special focus on the construction of identities, native resistance to colonial rule, the impact of colonial administrative structures and policies on the lives of ethnic minorities and western perceptions of Islam in the region.

He is currently researching on the histories of minorities in Penang and the Philippines as well anti-colonial resistance in British Malaya.


Dr Maznah Mohamad (Visiting Fellow at Department of Malay Studies, NUS)

Dr Mohamad joined ARI as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow in 2006. Concurrently, she is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Southeast Asian Studies Programme, NUS.

Maznah’s publications include, The Malay Handloom Weavers: A Study of the Rise and Decline of Traditional Manufacture (ISEAS, 1996); Risking Malaysia: Culture, Politics and Identity (co-edited, Penerbit UKM, 2001) and Feminism and the Women’s Movement in Malaysia (co-authored, Routledge, 2006). She has also published articles on Malaysian politics, Islam, democracy and human rights.


Gene Sha Rudyn (Participating Artist; Theatre practitioner)


Gene Sha Rudyn began performing professionally in his late teens and joined the theatre industry in 1991, playing Tanggang in Si Tanggang at the Singapore Arts Festival Fringe and The Pauper in The Prince and The Pauper the following year.

Two landmark moments in his career were the 2007 six-state Malaysian kampung tour of Anak Bulan Di Kampong Wa’ Hassan and the 2009 mosque premiere of AL-IKHLAS (SINCERITY) – a monologue in seven acts re-introducing God, both unprecedented.
He has performed at international festivals in Australia, Hungary, Japan and New Zealand, and currently leads Keelat Theatre Ensemble.


Khairuddin Hori (Participating Artist; Curator of Berita Harian, 2003)


Khairuddin Hori graduated with a Master of Arts from LASALLE in 2006 and attained a Diploma in Fine Arts at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in 1998. He has since explored and presented works across various media and disciplines including theatre, painting, sculpture, installation, performance art and the curatorship of contemporary arts.

In early 2009, Khairuddin presented 'Jakarta Biennale Community College', a makeshift school of sorts at the 13th Jakarta Biennale. Meanwhile, Khairuddin's last solo exhibitionTrading Craft, where he employed six Asian curators as his art-makers was presented by Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore at The Substation Gallery (Singapore) and The Art Center, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok (Thailand) in 2007.




Berita Harian 2 – Utusan Melayu is part of the ICAS programme of exhibitions showcasing contemporary art practice. This exhibition is supported by National Arts Council, Lee Foundation, National University of Singapore, Abd. Gafoor Mosque and Villains.

Artwork for Berita Harian 2

Title: "Aku bukan binatang jalang yang dari kumpulannya terbuang," Nazri, b. 1982
Size: 2 x 3 meters
Medium: Photography & digital print on PVC canvas
Year: 2010

Nazri, born in 1982, is Singaporean Malay. He has five stars tattooed on his body, an embodiment of the five stars in Singapore's national flag. Nazri is a professional costume designer and make-up artist and is a fashion school graduate.