Singapore Art Museum (SAM) embarks on artistic explorations of the ocean, as seen through the eyes of contemporary artists. Odyssey comprises contemporary artworks drawn from SAM’s per manent collection, artists’ collections and new commissions. The exhibition will present artworks by 11 artists from Singapore, Southeast Asia and beyond, as well as a Research Room that features loans from the Republic of Singapore Navy Museum’s collection.
Featured in Odyssey: Navigating Nameless Seas are artists Alfredo and Isabel Aquilizan (Australia/Philippines), Choe U-Ram (South Korea), Pratchaya Phinthong (Thailand), Rashid Rana (Pakistan), Sally Smart (Australia), Wyn Lyn Tan (Singapore), Richard Streitmatter-Tran (Vietnam), Entang Wiharso (Indonesia), and Ashley Yeo and Monica So-Young Moon(Singapore and South Korea).
Odyssey: Navigating Nameless Seas explores ideas pertaining to the origins of life and personal histories and identities, and provokes contemplation of the tempests that batter our sails on this journey through life.
Reflecting on the real-world influence that animals, specifically whales, have on humans, Vietnamese-American artist Richard Streitmatter-Tran’s A Short History of Man and Animal is a wooden boat with a set of bones placed within its hull, highlighting how fishing boats inherit the physical characteristic of whales.
“As the companion exhibition to our annual children’s contemporary art exhibition, Imaginarium: Over the Ocean, Under the Sea, Odyssey: Navigating Nameless Seas invites visitors to rethink idealised notions of seascapes and voyages through the artists’ representations and redefinitions of the ocean’s mysteries. At the same time, we hope that the contemporary artworks in this exhibition inspire contemplation of issues relating to human nature, our relationship with the sea, and the spirit of exploration and discovery,” says Ms Tan Siuli, Curatorial Co-Head, Singapore Art Museum.
Public and Educational Programmes
Odyssey: Navigating Nameless Seas will be accompanied by a series of public and educational programmes, including artist and curator tours of the exhibition and workshops conducted by the Republic of Singapore Navy.
