After a two-week residency at local art school Lasalle College of the Arts, 26 postgraduate students from various art institutions around the world have produced an island-themed exhibition, Tropical Lab 9: Island. Featuring videos, photography and installation, the works often deal with the rhythms and stresses of urban life as well as the place of nature in the city.
All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun (2015)
By Patrick Ong, digital video projection, colour, silent, 60 seconds
Local artist Ong's work is an unobtrusive, silent projection of light, pulsing within a black triangle and mimicking a solar eclipse.
#WalkingMy DragonFruit@ SG (2015)
By Jean-Pierre Mot, digital video projection, 16:9 ratio, two minutes
Inspired by the movie Cast Away (2000), which featured Tom Hanks talking to a volleyball, Cambodian artist Mot bought a dragonfruit and installed a vibrating mechanism in it. What follows is a humorous account of his adventures with his "pet" around Singapore.
Blatt (2015)
By Lukas Johannes Heerich, leaf, rubber, 5x84x118cm
German artist Heerich explores the relationship between industrial materials and nature by painting a giant leaf in liquid rubber. After coagulating, the leaf barely resembles its original form, yet cannot be attributed to anything people know either - a comment on how nature has been altered by modern life.
Sim City (2015)
By Chiaki Okabe, synthetic polymer paint on paper, 197x378cm
Japanese artist Okabe imagines a digital dreamscape full of cranes and the Singapore skyline, yet the central figure in the work appears sad and lost in the flurry of snow and pixels threatening to erase her surroundings.
The Haze Finds A Solid Form (2015)
By Sarah Chan, digital video projection, 16:9 ratio, colour, sound, one minute
American artist Chan presents the urban landscape of HDB flats and the brick-and-mortar aspects of Singapore's island state in a mesmerising video loop.
Feeling Raffled (2015)
By Andy Kassier, digital photograph on Dibond, 115x175cm
German artist Kassier has done a self-portrait set on the balcony of the iconic Raffles Hotel.
Invisible Coordinates (2015)
By Marko Stankovic, fluorescent lamps, wood in three parts, dimensions variable
Serbian artist Stankovic's work resembles planets floating in space. Attached to wooden structures, the lights create a sense of outer space and viewers feel as if they are in orbit.
Come Together (2015)
By Choiru Pradhono, digital video projection, 16:9 ratio, pins, string, dimensions variable, 1:30 minutes,
The Indonesian artist cuts short scenes and soundclips from his time during the residency to create a soundscape consisting of ambient noise, including people impatiently pressing the button for the traffic light.
WHERE: Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore, 1 McNally Street
WHEN: Till Sept 13, noon - 7pm daily, except Mon
ADMISSION: Free
INFO: Call 6496-5000 or go to www.facebook.com/TropicalLabSingapore
Richard Neo
