Installation view of Kapilan Naidu’s ‘Salintar Dreams of a Tranquil Sea (soliloquy_tpd)’ (2026)
Salintar Dreams of a Tranquil Sea (soliloquy_tpd) explores dreams as both longing and visions of possible futures. Part of the soliloquy series, this site-specific installation uses custom-trained large language models (LLMs) to generate text that shapes its narrative and visual form.
This work personifies the lost fishing village of Salintar as a dreaming entity, drifting between past and present. Drawing from the Sejarah Melayu and early Malay sources, it presents speculative monologues—reveries shaped by hope, where the village imagines itself enduring, thriving, and growing alongside the sea. The installation features fragmented LED matrix strips that display monochromatic, wave-like text. These shifting lines are generated by real-time environmental data such as tidal movements, wind, and passing ships, mirroring the area’s constant state
of flux.
From afar, the screens ripple like the sea. Up close, narratives emerge and dissolve as viewers move. Through this interplay of language, history and environment, the artwork reflects on memory, displacement and the unseen human stories that shape the city’s identity.
Venue: Side gate entrance, Tanjong Pagar Distripark
When: 10 Mar - 31 Aug 2026,
By: Singapore Art Museum (SAM)
