By Ashwariya Khemka and Masturah Sha’ari

The year 2020 was struck with the horrifying global pandemic of COVID-19, which brought a dramatic stop to most lives across the globe. While most colleges were forced to shift to online-based learning in many countries, including Singapore, students here were eventually able to return to school, following the government’s clearly outlined directives to contain the spread of the virus. The overseas study trip component of our Asian Art Histories programme was, however, disrupted due to travel restrictions amidst rising covid cases worldwide. Not to deter our spirits, Jeffrey Say, our programme leader proposed an alternative plan that would not only allow us to explore art spaces and studios in our very own backyard, but also to bond with our fellow classmates.

The Singapore study trip took place from 3 to 5 April 2021. After checking into Orchard Hotel around noon on Saturday, we rode in our Mercedes MPV to our first destination, Emily Hill, which housed a gallery and artist studios, including that of two LASALLE alumni—glass and sand artist Tan Sock Fong and ceramicist Ahmad Abu Bakar.

Welcomed by Sock Fong in her rain boots, she not only shared with us how she came to be a key player of this creative cluster but also the uncertainty surrounding the impending displacement caused by government plans to take back the current space. She gave us a tour of the gallery which exhibited works by resident artists, including her beautiful glass pieces. As we stepped into her studio, she explained her latest experimentation of pushing glass to its material limits. With the assistance of our classmate Han, she gave us a peek into her gigantic kiln. Sock Fong conducts glass and sand art workshops, where she encourages her students to explore their creativity with complete freedom.

Ahmad Abu Bakar, whose studio space is beside Sock Fong’s, is an adjunct lecturer of ceramics at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and former lecturer at LASALLE. He shared with us the history of his artistic practice and career, along with highlights of his collaboration with Singapore Changi Prison inmates, with whom he had been mentoring in an arts programme since 2009. He gave an insight into his upcoming installation project for Esplanade, Theatres by the Bay, titled Candy Garden, where over a hundred of his popsicle-coloured ceramic pots would be suspended from the ceiling. The works would be in various shapes, sizes and colours, with floral motifs at the base of each piece and geometrical designs on the sides. We were fortunate to view some of Ahmad’s works-in-progress at his studio. A luckier few got the chance to hold a piece that the artist lifted from his kiln!

As we set off for our final stop for the day, Grey Projects, we reflected on the fate of art spaces in Singapore. Grey Projects is an independent art space run by artist and writer, Jason Wee. Hidden in a commercial/residential complex along Kim Tian Road, the space was slightly challenging to locate. Upon locating it, we met Jason in his library, where we sat and had a long chat about his organisation and the work that they do, surrounded by floor-to-ceiling shelves of endless books on art, music and literature. The art space has two galleries and an apartment for resident artists. As Grey Projects was in the midst of preparing an art book sale, one of the galleries was filled with books in every corner. The art space is well known for writing and publishing books on art, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to purchase some of their latest publications.

We finally headed back to our hotel for a short break before leaving for dinner at Satay by the Bay. Good food, great wine and even better company.

After breakfast at the hotel the next morning, we were excited to meet artist Ang Ah Tee at his gallery-studio in Bukit Panjang. Greeted by an amazing view of the neighbourhood, Ang welcomed us into his gallery-styled space, with his artworks hung on the white walls. As we sat comfortably on retro-like rattan chairs, we almost forgot that we were in a HDB apartment. Ang took us back to how he had sold his works early in his art career upon graduating from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). He recalled efforts by galleries like Della Butcher, Mona Lisa (in Chinatown), Grace Gallery and Sandra Gallery, to promote Singaporean artists in the 1960s. Ang’s paintings of the Singapore River proved a hit with expatriates, way before his first and subsequent solo shows at Della Butcher. He was soon able to travel widely to America and Europe, which inspired many of his works, and spoke of the importance of having and developing one’s own unique style.

A recipient of the Cultural Medallion in 2009, Ang is known for his paintings of local and overseas landscapes. His recent artworks adopt a contemporary edge yet incorporating traditional elements like Chinese ink strokes. Ang’s emphasis is simplicity, to reflect how he sees life now at an older age. His prolific art career had seen him pushing out a new series of works almost every year, many of them not yet shown to the public. We felt fortunate to be given a ‘preview’ of his new works ahead of his solo show at Cape of Good Hope Gallery. We were also privileged to enter his painting studio, where his well-used easel stood at the centre, flanked by a cabinet topped with bottles and tubes of paint. Ahh… the familiar scent of an artist’s den!

Leaving Ang Ah Tee’s studio, we made a stop at Raffles City Shopping Centre for a quick lunch and then coffee at Starbucks before walking to Ode to Art, a contemporary art gallery on the first floor of the mall. Gallery owner Jazz Chong and her colleague Marie walked us through their vast collection of artworks on display. These include works by Salvador Dali, Lim Tze Peng, Botero, Hong Zhu An and Adi Gunawan among others. Jazz offered us tea and cakes in a cosy little corner of the gallery stocked with their books and publications. She shared about her gallery and how they function, as well as some of their corporate collaborations, which sounded very intriguing! The icing on the cake was a gift each of us received— a collectible plate printed with a painting by Lim Tze Peng and a book on Lim, published by Ode to Art.

After the gallery tour, Jazz accompanied us to visit the home-studio of artist Hong Zhu An, a two-storey bungalow with a swimming pool, at Toh Crescent. Born in China, Hong is a recipient of the UOB Painting of the Year. His works are painted in an abstract style marked by Chinese calligraphic elements, in ink and acrylic. The artist took us on a tour around his house, stopping and elaborating on some of his paintings on the walls. A highlight of this visit was when he pulled out his works from a pile stacked up on an antique bed in one of his rooms! Then he invited us to sit at the dining table and offered us calming jasmine tea and cupcakes.

Finally, we had dinner was at the Orchid Country Club, courtesy of our classmate Winston Hauw. Once again, we had a wonderful meal and to celebrate our class rep Masturah’s birthday, we returned to the hotel for some late-night coffee and cake.

Our third and final day began with breakfast at the hotel, followed by a visit to the home of our programme alumna, Lourdes Samson, an avid collector of contemporary Southeast Asian art. Born in the Philippines, Lourdes’ parents were collectors of modern Filipino and Southeast Asian art, making her and her husband generational art collectors. Located in a quiet neighborhood at Jalan Siantan, almost every inch of her three-storey house was covered with art. Her collection boasts of familiar names such as Nona Garcia, Jose Santos, Sopheap Pich, Suttee Kunavichayanont, Yee I-Lann and many more. There were works along the stairwell, on doors and tables, around the living rooms and even the family’s game room.

Lourdes explained that due to the limited space, they were unable to display all their collected works; these were merely 20 percent of their entire collection! Putting up an additional work meant a hung piece would have to be moved to storage. The collection had a few themes such as Catholicism and lives of immigrants. As a collector, Lourdes believes that art represents an opportunity to learn more about the Southeast Asian region, thereby creating fruitful and meaningful conversations. We were in awe of her beautiful home and wondered how she and her family managed to live alongside such powerful works of contemporary art. Lourdes, along with her fellow classmates Connie Wong and Ivy Lam, started SEED The Art Space, an independent non-profit that aims to enable and empower artists, curators, researchers, art enthusiasts and like-minded people to push the boundaries of artistic practices.

We were soon back at the hotel to check out. Our last ride in our Mercedes MPV took us to our final destination of the local study trip—the National Gallery Singapore (NGS). After having lunch at a café near the gallery store at NGS, we walked to the offices. There we met Ong Zhen Min for a backdoor tour of NGS. Zhen Min brought us down to the Gallery’s underground loading bay. Shipping trucks enter this bay from the road above at the back of NGS via a vehicle elevator. Once the artworks are loaded off the truck, these works will be taken for processing and cleaning (if required) by professional art conservators, before being carried in another large elevator to the galleries where they are to be installed. The installation process is done carefully according to the advice of the curator and other professionals. Once again, we were happy to get a sneak peek into an upcoming exhibition, Something New Must Turn Up: Six Artists After 1965, featuring six Singaporean artists whose art practices were way ahead of their times.

Despite being a study trip on home ground, this three-day affair was a fantastic way to boost interest in the local art scene and rediscover art spaces and studios within our own city-state. We would especially like to mention our classmate Prapan Jangkitchai (who had to go back to Thailand) and former lecturer Dr. Clare Veal, whom we missed incredibly on this trip. Our utmost gratitude to our programme leader Jeffrey Say for making this trip an enjoyable and memorable one, and one of the best weekends ever.