Singapore artists Robert Zhao, Priyageetha Dia show at Aichi Triennale

AICHI, Japan – Singaporean artists Robert Zhao and Priyageetha Dia are two of 62 artists from 22 countries and territories showing at the Aichi Triennale 2025.

One of Japan’s leading contemporary art events, the triennale opened at Aichi Arts Center on Sept 12. It will be on till Nov 30.

Zhao’s work Seeing Forest is an extension of his work Albizia, which was shown at the Esplanade in 2023. It was also Singapore’s entry to the 2024 Venice Biennale.

He said the fast-growing tree Albizia-Falcataria moluccana is often dismissed as an invasive species. “Yet it tells new ecological stories through its persistence in human-shaped landscapes.”

Dia’s work, LAMENT H.E.A.T. is an upsized version of a piece first commissioned by the Singapore Art Museum in 2023.

The installation features a video work displayed in a structure built from rubberwood, latex sheets and rubber mats. It is inspired by the plantation economy in South-east Asia.

She said: “For me, presenting LAMENT H.E.A.T. in Aichi is significant as it opens up a dialogue between South-east Asia and Japan, with both regions linked by entangled histories of empire, labour and extraction. In this context, the work is not only a reflection on South-east Asian memory, but also an invitation to think across these two geographies.”

Both artists were approached by the triennale’s artistic director Hoor Al Qasimi, who saw their works when they were first presented in Singapore.

The founder of the Sharjah Art Foundation and driving force behind the well-regarded

Sharjah Biennial

is the first foreigner to lead the Aichi Triennale.

Appointed in 2023, Ms Hoor, who is also president of the International Biennial Association, drew from the work of influential Syrian poet Ali Ahmad Said Esber, also known as Adonis, for the theme of this triennale, A Time Between Ashes And Roses.

His collection was written in the wake of the disastrous 1967 Six-Day War in the Middle East and is regarded as a ground-breaking work of contemporary Arab poetry.

Ms Hoor said at the opening ceremony that putting together the exhibition has been an emotional experience.

“I, of course, grew up with the occupation in Palestine, and a lot of friends and colleagues struggling with the ethnic cleansing that’s been going on for decades, and then the situation got worse. I did not expect we will be witnessing a live genocide on our screens while preparing for this exhibition. So, this title is more important than ever at this time.”

She quoted Adonis’ lines: “How can withered trees blossom? A time between ashes and roses is coming when everything shall be extinguished and everything shall begin again.”

She added: “So, I call on all of us as people in the arts and culture to really think about our roles: What is our role today? How are we expressing ourselves? But also, what role do we have to play to speak for others who don’t have a platform?”