Inspired by the bed as a gateway to sleep and dreams, is there any way i can be in your arms tonight is a site-responsive installation that draws parallels between the dream realm and the worlds of possibility contained within books. In dioramas set within bed frames of varying sizes, Ezzam presents whimsical landscapes of flora and fauna, inhabited by miniature creatures like insects and birds.
While alluring on first sight, a closer look reveals that these objects have been sculpted from unconventional and yet not-unfamiliar materials: dead skin, nails, anti-inflammatory plasters, and depleted tubes of analgesic balm. Keenly associated with the artist’s breathing body, these ephemeral materials present the paradox of absence and presence while capturing certain long-running themes of Ezzam’s practice: of beauty and the abject, of vulnerability and impermanence, and of longing and desire. The installation invites audiences to enter an intimate viewing space, offering room for mental wanderings.
Ezzam Rahman’s commission for the SAM Mini Mobile Museum responds to an existing work by the artist in the National Collection, titled Here’s who I am, I am what you see (2015).
Venues: Jurong (4 Dec – 12 Jan) and Tampines (15 Jan – 23 Feb) Regional Libraries
When: 14 Aug 2019 - 23 Feb 2020, 10am - 9pm
By: Singapore Art Museum (SAM)
