The River Connects
14 Jan–3 Feb 2022
10am-7pm
Asian Civilisations Museum, Level 2, Foyer
An immersive media installation by artist Ong Kian Peng, The River Connects highlights the bridges along the Singapore River. As its title suggests, this work explores the possibilities of human connection on and by the river — an organic phenomenon that can span mobility, commerce and social interactions. Inspired by this notion, The River Connects references the many ways of connecting through a collection of archival and 3D scanned images of the bridges. It presents the stories they hold in an interactive and experiential format, while giving the audience new perspectives of sights that are both familiar, yet distant.
The River Connects is presented as part of Curiocity: Places & Perspectives, an initiative of the National Library Board’s Libraries and Archives Blueprint 2025 (LAB25) that aims to nurture a stronger appreciation of the Singapore experience, in partnership with Light to Night Festival 2022.
Ong Kian Peng is a media artist based in Singapore whose practice investigates the effects of climate change and our relationship with nature. Working at the intersection of art, technology and the environment, Ong creates immersive and reflective environments that offer alternate visions and imaginations of our relationship with nature. Ong’s works have been exhibited in art spaces and museums such as the Tainan Museum of Fine Art, Singapore Art Museum, Arebyte Gallery London and ICA London. He has presented works in festivals and art fairs like the Singapore M1 Fringe Festival, International Computer Music Conference, Siggraph Art Gallery and FILE Festival Brazil. Ong was awarded the President’s Young Talent Grand Prize in 2015 and graduated from UCLA with an MFA in Design Media Art. He is currently an adjunct lecturer at Lasalle College of the Arts, specialising in media and creative technologies. Since 2017, he has also run Supernormal, an independent art space focusing on emerging and experimental art practice.
