
Cribs (Exhibition view at Palais de Tokyo), Gerald Leow, 2015. Image Courtesy of Gerald Leow.
Situated on the front lawn of Singapore Art Museum, Lumbung (Malay for rice granary or barn) is a rice granary for current times, harking to the history of Bras Basah, even as it draws upon the graphic imagery of a more modern era.
Gerald Leow’s work situates the lumbung in the curved embrace of the colonial architecture of the Museum building – the former St. Joseph’s Institute (SJI) building that had its cornerstone laid in 1855. Constructed out of wood, the lumbung’s material echoes back to its forebears, and stands in contrast to the school building’s imposing stone and brickwork. Indeed, the wood used here is specifically recycled crate pinewood – the same kind of material used for the crates that freight artworks in and out for the Museum’s many exhibitions. Imprinted with stamps and chops that reveal past passages and journeys, the wood also materially gestures to Singapore’s past-and-present as a transportation hub and port city.
Venue: Front Lawn, Singapore Art Museum, 71 Bras Basah Road, Singapore 189555
When: 17 Jan - 1 Apr 2018,
By: Singapore Art Museum (SAM)