Something New Must Turn Up: Six Singaporean Artists After 1965

Something New Must Turn Up: Six Singaporean Artists After 1965 is the first-ever joint exhibition comprising six solo presentations that explore the diverse artistic practices of six post-independence Singaporean artists: Chng Seok Tin (莊心珍), Goh Beng Kwan (吴珉权), Jaafar Latiff, Lin Hsin Hsin (林欣欣), Mohammad Din Mohammad (محمد دین محمد ) and Eng Tow (杜瑛). Launching on 7 May, the show offers an in-depth and comparative examination of how these artistic innovators broke new ground and contributed significantly to the development of Singapore’s modern and contemporary art in the post-independence era.

Featuring over 300 artworks and more than 100 archival materials and objects spanning across decades and disciplines from collage, printmaking and installations, to batik, cloth and digital art, the show provides a rich visual experience that demonstrates the breadth and depth of the artistic practices of post-independence Singaporean artists. The expansive solo presentations will also provide audiences with a deeper understanding of how this group of artists actively expanded the boundaries of art in post-independence Singapore through innovative artistic practices and techniques that pushed the envelope on Singapore’s modern art and contributed to the development of Singapore’s contemporary art.

Through the exhibition, audiences will not only be able to draw connections between the artworks and developments in Singapore’s history and cultural identity in the post-independence era, but also to their own life through themes that remain resonant today, such as art and wellness, an individual’s relationship to nature and the loss of the country’s heritage due to rapid urbanisation and economic growth.