• News
  • Add Your Events
  • Support & Advertise
  • Contact Us

Logo

Navigation
  • Art News
  • Art Listings
    • Current Exhibitions
    • Upcoming Exhibitions
    • Auctions
    • Workshops
    • Talks
    • Guided Tours
    • Festivals, Markets, Parties
    • Kids’ & Families’ Events
    • Performances
    • Film
    • Open Calls
  • Art Venues

Each Blade of Grass Each Shrub Each Tree

News
Robert Zhao, How To Make A Tree Disappear As Nature Intended II (2016), 100 kg of sawdust will be distributed in an installation at the Substation, Dimensions Variable

Robert Zhao, How To Make A Tree Disappear As Nature Intended II (2016)
100 kg of sawdust will be distributed in an installation at the Substation, Dimensions Variable

 

The Substation presents Each Blade of Grass Each Shrub Each Tree, a programme of exhibition, performance and forum as a response to the Cross Island Line (CRL) discussions about MacRitchie Reservoir.

Bringing together the works of artists, writers and nature conservationists who resist constructed visions of nature as a singular, unchanging entity, the programme complicates our understanding of Nature and the Garden. From the edenic to the horrifying, from the sublime to fictions of representation, nature, through their eyes, becomes speculative, autonomous but also charged with human trace—as Tan Wee Kiat, former CEO of NParks puts it, “each blade of grass and each shrub and tree [is to be] brought to the site and put into place.

Singapore’s prevailing moniker of the Garden City is a reflection of the attempts at yielding nature a place in the land-scarce city. The focus on greening our city has its roots in British-colonial ways of engaging nature, and has since taken on shifting definitions in line with national and strategic interests. Lee Kuan Yew, our former Prime Minister noted, “after independence, I searched for some dramatic way to distinguish ourselves from other Third World countries. I settled for a clean and green Singapore…

By engaging with artists and academics who have developed ways of experiencing or thinking about nature and/or the urban, the programme is part of The Substation’s plans to drive larger conversations in Singapore. The Artistic director, Alan Oei says, “At The Substation, we hope take on some of the big, difficult cultural questions that affect us, as a nation, a people, and as individuals.”

David Tan, Jambu Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus jambu)

David Tan, Jambu Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus jambu)

Most of the artworks presented have no direct relation to the CRL, but provide a survey of different responses to the ecology of Singapore. They range from written documents to painting, photography and performance.

The programme is a timely and topical response befitting The Substation as an independent voice for the public. He says, “Timing is everything. With a real issue on hand, the space for reflection to consider our relationship to nature within this small island city becomes far more potent. We’re very careful to remain neutral on the CRL issue. We just want to show the different strands of practice and engagement that artists have with Nature. It doesn’t try to be a coherent survey by any means, but still has great potential for revealing a deeper condition of Singapore and our varied experience of Nature as a construct.”

The exhibition features artworks by  Chu Hao Pei, David Tan, Deborah Emmanuel, Geraldine Kang, Robert Zhao, Sharda Harrison, Susie Wong, Timothy Barnard, and Tony O’Dempsey.

Venue: The Substation Gallery, 45 Armenian St, Singapore

When: 5 – 15 May 2016
The Exhibition will be closed for a private performance and forum on 7 May from 1PM to 4PM.

Share this story:
  • tweet

Comments are closed.

Art Calendar

SAGG on Facebook

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

2 days 10 hours ago

www.eco-business.com/press-releases/uob-partners-sg-eco-fund-to-bring-sustainability-and-art-to-the-community/

UOB partners SG Eco Fund to bring sustainability and art to the community

UOB, one of Singapore’s leading banks, and the SG Eco Fund have announced a two-year partnership to drive greater community awareness of sustainability and art.

View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

1 week 2 days ago

www.straitstimes.com/life/arts/eight-singapore-indie-booksellers-launch-bookshop-sg-as-amazon-alternative

Eight Singapore indie booksellers launch Bookshop.sg as Amazon alternative

The online store, which launches on May 14, describes itself as an act of "radical cooperation". Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

1
View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

1 week 4 days ago

www.asiaone.com/singapore/over-50k-gold-coins-cash-stolen-veteran-artist-koeh-sia-yongs-home-while-he-was-bali

Over $50k in gold coins, cash stolen from veteran artist Koeh Sia Yong's home while he was in Bali

SINGAPORE — While veteran Singaporean artist Koeh Sia Yong was away in Indonesia for nearly two months earlier in 2025, his bedroom drawers back home were emptied of more than $50,000 in valuables. The 87-year-old returned to his two-bedroom unit at The Interlace condo in Depot Road on March 15 to...

View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

1 week 5 days ago

danamic.org/2025/05/11/order-is-essential-what-we-learnt-about-fernando-zobel-at-his-national-gallery-exhibit/

Order is Essential: What We Learnt about Fernando Zóbel at his National Gallery Exhibit

Come learn with us about the life, thoughts and works of Fernando Zóbel in a truly transcontinental exhibition that's open right now!

View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

4 weeks 17 hours ago

www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/arts-design/how-one-man-made-nude-art-possible-singapore

How one man made nude art possible in Singapore

Yeo Workshop celebrates the legacy of Solamalay Namasivayam, who fought for nude figure drawing when it was still considered 'indecent'. Today, nude figure drawing is a cornerstone of artist training in Singapore Read more at The Business Times.

1
View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

1 month 3 weeks ago

www.harpersbazaar.com.sg/lifestyle/robert-zhao-hong-kong-art-week

Robert Zhao Might Be One Of The Best Singaporean Artists That You’ve Never Heard Of, Until Now

We caught up with the creative mastermind behind CHARLES & KEITH’s latest Artist In Residence project.

2
View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

1 month 4 weeks ago

cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/style-beauty/plain-prints-project-shirts-menswear-461761

This Singapore fashion brand only makes shirts that make you feel like you’re wearing art

If statement-making shirts are your thing, you’d definitely find multiples styles to like from Plain Prints Project’s designs.

1
View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

2 months 3 days ago

www.prestigeonline.com/sg/lifestyle/art-plus-design/artists-to-watch-2025-singapore-and-hong-kong/

Artists to watch 2025: Singapore and Hong Kong

We identify emerging talents from eight East Asian countries that should all be on your cultural radar this year.

View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

2 months 3 days ago

www.asiaone.com/lifestyle/singapore-and-japan-team-create-art-installation-7km-ocean

Singapore and Japan team up to create art installation 7km in the ocean

In 2022, Lakshmi Mohanbabu became the first Singaporean to send her artwork into space. Fast forward a couple of years and the local artist, alongside tech firm NuStar and Nanyang Technological University (NTU), is part of another groundbreaking project. This time, she has her art installation heade...

1
View on Facebook
Share

Singapore Art & Gallery Guide

2 months 4 days ago

www.timeout.com/singapore/news/a-new-arts-venue-focusing-on-immersive-experiences-will-open-at-gardens-by-the-bay-this-2025-031925

A new arts venue focusing on immersive experiences will open at Gardens by the Bay this 2025

This new attraction in Singapore has a special zone for multi-sensory projection art and a gallery space for mixed media

2
1
View on Facebook
Share
  • News
  • Add Your Events
  • Support & Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
© 2020. Singapore Art & Gallery Guide
We use cookies that are necessary for the website's functions. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkNoRead more