National Gallery Singapore delays war-themed exhibition, citing ‘uncertain global situation’
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The exhibition, After The Monsoon: Art & War In Southeast Asia, was slated to open on May 22 and continue till Oct 18.
PHOTO: ST FILE
SINGAPORE – A major exhibition spotlighting World War II and the Vietnam War through South-east Asian art at the National Gallery Singapore (NGS) has been postponed indefinitely “out of consideration for the uncertain global situation”.
An e-mail the gallery sent to subscribers on April 30 gave no further information on the decision, except to thank recipients for their continued support.
After The Monsoon: Art & War In Southeast Asia was slated to open on May 22 and continue till Oct 18. Materials advertising the exhibition had already been set up around the special gallery on level 3.
Curated by NGS curators Seng Yu Jin, Horikawa Lisa, Phoebe Scott, and Kathleen Ditzig, After The Monsoon would have featured artists including Singapore’s Robert Zhao and Sim Chiyin, Indonesia’s Affandi, Vietnam’s Tuan Andrew Nguyen and the Philippines’ Fernando Amorsolo.
A previously released exhibition blurb described it as a show that would explore how artists and art took on new roles during violent conflicts. “Art has been mobilised as a generative force for critically reflecting, remembering, documenting and healing in the face of conflict,” it said.
The Straits Times has asked NGS who made the decision to postpone and why this was necessary.
ST understands the special gallery where the exhibition was expected to be held will stay empty for now. NGS recently opened its first R18 show, Passion Is Volcanic: Desire In Southeast Asian Art, which was, according to insiders, also delayed from a January opening date.
The United States and Israel have been locked in conflict with Iran, after coordinated strikes on Feb 28 killed much of Iran’s leadership and led to the regime closing the critical Strait of Hormuz.
