Things To Do In Singapore: Singapore Biennale 2022 Kicks Off & More
Our weekly edit of things to check out.
By Keng Yang Shuen,
Halloween will soon be unto us and the best place to get ready is to hit up a one-of-a-kind Halloween-themed flea market curated by none other than nightlife queen Bobby Luo. And art lovers are in for a treat with the opening of the seventh edition of the Singapore Biennale – more details below.
Halloween is coming up fast and if you're still searching for costume ideas or accessories, there's probably no better place to hit up than nightlife impresario Bobby Luo's Halloween flea market. Held at his cult multi-label boutique Super Freak, many of our favourite Singapore labels will be having stalls there, such as Closet Children, which makes "magical girl anime" costume jewellery.
Additionally, Luo will be staging a garage sale section with used festive props and decor as well as pre-owned costumes and statement oddities from his own very extensive archives (trust us on this) – it'll elevate any Halloween party you're planning from basic to pretty much 100.
Oct 16, 11am to 6pm at Super Freak, #01-02 Stamford Court
Emerging artist Daniel Chong is known for his witty artworks – think cookies and spilt milk on a pair of jeans on the floor, or new soap bars pretending to be used ones, and he's now turned his playful eye to curating. Chong is the recipient of non-profit visual arts space Ojectifs' latest Curator Open Call programme, and he's curated their latest exhibition, Sugar Pills for a Bitter World.
"The world is absurd, and curator Daniel Chong is ready to prescribe Sugar Pills for a Bitter World," states the press release. In order to do so, Chong has enlisted five emerging artists – Desiree Tham, Eng Kai Er, Mike HJ Chang, Ryan Lim Zi Yi and Yeyoon Avis – each of them presenting their own sugar pills, or placebos, as an honest response to the chaos of the times we're living in.
For example, Mike HJ Chang's Cinema-Going-Surrogates (2016–ongoing) (pictured) are presented as figures with camcorders for eyes that watch films. They're intended to comment "ironically on the excess of media and goods in late-stage capitalism; his surrogates perform these actions on our behalf so that we can consume more, to the point of redundancy."
On now till Nov 6 at Objectifs, 155 Middle Rd
One of the largest contemporary arts festivals in the region, the Singapore Biennale is back after a hiatus last year due to the pandemic. The biennale has several unusual twists this time, starting with it being named "Natasha" by the curatorial team, the latter commenting that they wanted to lend a more relatable element to what is typically a very large and overwhelming event (much as how things like ships are always christened with human names).
This year’s edition sees more than 50 artists and collaborators from all around the world showcasing works at Natasha, and the works are spread out across diverse locations (aside from the key primary stage at Tanjong Pagar Distripark) – from the Singapore Flyer to the Southern Islands, as well as more heartland locations like the libraries in Woodlands, Jurong and Tampines.
Some have noted that this year's biennale seems to be more introspective and focused on artists' creative processes rather than opting for grand blockbusters that typically dot other biennales around the world, and that's certainly intriguing. We say make of it what you will and experience the biennale for yourself.
Check out the full line-up here.
Oct 16 to March 19, 2023, various locations