The Lost City 3 exhibition at Chan Hampe Galleries is the third in a series first mooted in 2004 by former journalist and architect Arthur Sim to explore relations between art, architecture and urbanism. In this iteration, four Singaporean artists - Chinese ink painter Hong Sek Chern, photographer Geraldine Kang, architect C.K. Kum and visual artist Tang Ling Nah - focus on the changes in a globalised Singapore, which is populated by massive condominiums, office buildings and malls.
Accretion 2 (2015)
By Hong Sek Chern
Chinese ink, pigment on rice paper, 66x65cm
The artist says she was interested in exploring "the idea of the city as it was in the midst of being". Here, she paints the HDB apartments in different orientations, juxtaposing them against one another.
Strata (2015)
By Hong Sek Chern
Chinese ink, pigment, collage on rice paper, 68x68cm
In this work, the artist uses different styles and colours to achieve a varied look, which reflects the ever-changing urban landscape.
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WHERE: 328 North Bridge Road, 01-21 Raffles Hotel Arcade
MRT: City Hall
WHEN: Till Dec 6; 11am to 7pm (Tuesday to Sunday), closed on Monday and public holiday
ADMISSION: Free
INFO: Go to www.chanhampegalleries.com
My Char City - The Little Golden Dot (2015)
By Tang Ling Nah
Charcoal remnants and light fixture, 6x11.5cm
This installation by the artist-curator comprises two parts - a miniature sculpture of a city and its projected shadow. Says Tang: "They represent the two aspects that an ever-changing city would experience - the real city where humans live and the perceived reality of a city, which includes the urban planning, vision and dreams of its inhabitants."
Fragments (2015)
By C.K. Kum
Installation, recycled door, window and stairs, dimensions vary
Kum, who has an architectural background, collected fragments of the demolished house at 106 Joo Chiat Place, where Cultural Medallion artist Ng Eng Teng used to live. He says: "It evokes more than a historical footnote specific to time and place. What do we remember and how do we choose to remember?"
Snow Burial (2012)
By Geraldine Kang
Dye-sublimate print on aluminium, displayed on wooden rails, 28x42cm
The artist, who has photographed her family extensively, has opted for the intimate confines of a typical HDB-flat bedroom. The colour white has been chosen for its "polar connotations", while the windows represent a point of transit, she says.
Where She Used To Be I (2015)
By Geraldine Kang
Archival inkjet print, diasec mount 40x60cm
The title of this work, which refers to a barren room with nothing inside save for white curtains, could be a reference to the artist's grandmother, who died late last year. "It is a direct and intimate expression of death in the family," she says.
Where She Used To Be II (2015)
By Geraldine Kang
Archival inkjet print, diasec mount, 40x60cm
Through this partially obscured shot of an empty kitchen, the artist hopes to "find resonance among viewers". She feels that one cannot talk about the city and its architecture without examining the lives and turmoil of its inhabitants.