Dalam Collection: Where Ink Tides Meet

Installation view, Dalam Collection: Where Ink Tides Meet, National Gallery Singapore, 2025. Image courtesy of National Gallery Singapore

National Gallery Singapore uncovers a new dimension of ink with the debut show of its new exhibition series, Dalam Collection. Running from 6 June to 16 November 2025, Where Ink Tides Meet showcases over 50 works from the National Collection – a large majority of which are on public view for the first time. The exhibition includes captivating ink works by key figures across the region, such as Chen Wen Hsi, Guan Shanyue, Hong Zhu An, Latiff Mohidin, Liu Kang and Nena Saguill.

Taking its name from the Malay word dalam, meaning “inside” or “deep within,” Dalam Collection builds on the curatorial experimentation of its predecessor, Dalam Southeast Asia. This series invites visitors to examine how collections are formed, interpreted, and experienced. Each installment, presented whenever a new facet of the Gallery’s Collection emerges, showcases recent acquisitions and curatorial research to reveal lesser-known connections across time and place, recasting familiar narratives and uncovering new ones, with dialogues between the art of Singapore, Southeast Asia, and the world as a focal point.

Where Ink Tides Meet kickstarts the series with a focus on ink, building on the Gallery’s ongoing research on this versatile medium. It positions Singapore as a critical place where ink traditions have met, evolved, and converged through artists who reimagined the medium across generations, geographies, and cultural traditions. The exhibition expands the understanding of ink beyond its classical forms, inviting visitors to explore how the medium has been reinterpreted through modern sensibilities, cross-cultural encounters, and experimental techniques.