Featuring depictions of various Southeast Asian communities, Familiar Others seeks to explore the tension of how communities in the region were represented in the past and prompt discussions around this issue in a contemporary manner. The exhibition focuses on works by three Southeast Asian artists – painter Emiria Sunassa from Indonesia, photographer Eduardo Masferré from the Philippines, and Yeh Chi Wei from Singapore – who were familiar with or connected to the people from the “Other” communities that they captured in their art.

Delving deeper into present day perspectives of cultural representations of these communities, the Gallery adopts novel approaches to artwork labels and exhibition texts in Familiar Others, such as prominently displaying contemporary responses from individuals with community ties to the people represented in the artworks and tracing the changing titles of select artworks. This highlights and contrasts conventional museum practices, spurring self-reflection of the Gallery’s own museum practices of cultural representation while prompting visitors and the broader community to think and engage with the artworks through fresh lenses.

Venue: National Gallery Singapore

When: 4 Aug 2022 - 14 May 2023,

By: National Gallery Singapore