Perspectives Magazine

Art x War: An Editorial Foreword

Explore new perspectives on modern and contemporary war art from Southeast Asia through this special issue of Perspectives, Art x War. This issue is part of a collaborative research project involving scholars from universities in Australia and Southeast Asia, and curators from National Gallery Singapore and the Australian War Memorial.

Art x War: Representing Conflict in SEA: Australia's Official War Art Collection

Dr. Margaret Hutchison’s essay provides an important analysis of the origins and changing nature of war art in the Australian War Memorial, and particularly in relation to art made in and about conflicts in Southeast Asia.

Art x War: Painting the Revolution: Child Artists in Indonesia’s War of Independence—A Review of Two Books

Dr. Wulan Dirgantoro reviews and compares two books, one recent and one published in 1982, that address the work and life of the artist Dullah.

Art x War: Stealing Raden Saleh: War and Art in Indonesia

Dr. Elly Kent’s essay discusses the ongoing fascination of artists and scholars alike with the enormous history painting, Penangkapan Pangeran Diponegoro (The Arrest of Prince Diponegoro) (1857) by Javanese painter, Raden Saleh (1811–1880).

Art x War: Maria Madeira and Koperativa LO’UD: Women’s Stories from Timor-Leste at the Australian War Memorial

Curator Elise Routledge from AWM discusses the institution’s acquisition of works by artists from Timor-Leste. Routledge describes the genesis and significance of works by the women’s weaving collective Koperativa LO’UD (LO’UD Cooperative) and contemporary artist Maria Madeira, who recently represented Timor-Leste at the Venice Biennale.

Art x War: Art in the Third Indochina War: Paintings by Pech Song

Dr. Roger Nelson focuses on the paintings of the Cambodian artist Pech Song to answer the question “What role have art and artists played during periods of war and conflict implicated in decolonisation as a process?” 

Itji Tarmizi: The Missing Link

Indonesian social realist artist Itji Tarmizi and his contemporaries are known as a “missing link” in Indonesia’s modern art history as little is known about their work.

A look into Evil Eye by Pacita Abad

According to traditional beliefs, depictions of the evil eye could ward away a malevolent gaze. Curator Cheng Jia Yun explains how Philippine artist Pacita Abad’s artwork is more than meets the eye.

Nhek Dim’s Village Scene: History, Tropical Abundance, and Tragedy

On first appearances, Village Scene is a lively and cheerful depiction of rural life. Yet, this harmonious-looking work is also a poignant reminder of a tumultuous time in Southeast Asia that ultimately led to a period of unimaginable tragedy in Cambodia.

A Closer Look at Georgette Chen's Tropical Fruits

Tropical Fruits (1969) is the largest known still life by Georgette Chen. With fruits in baskets, laid out on the table, and hanging from the ceiling, the work is an experiment in compositional techniques.

A Conversation with Lin Hsin Hsin on Outer Space and OSIRIS-REx

On 24 September 2023, the sample capsule from OSIRIS-REx returned to Earth carrying NASA's first asteroid sample, taken from the surface of Bennu.

Interview with Wawi Navarroza

In her series Self-Portraits & The Tropical Gothic (2019), Wawi Navarroza allows digital-processing manipulations of the images to be visible for the first time.

The first artwork in our National Collection

Do you know that this self-portrait was the first artwork to be accessioned into our art collection? Find out more about the National Collection and how it started.

Life as Art: Collecting with Chua Soo Bin

Chua Soo Bin is not only a renowned photographer, gallerist, art dealer and art patron, but also an avid collector of culture and history.

Latiff Mohidin: Pago Pago (1960–1969) | A Conversation with Shabbir Hussain Mustafa

In this in-Gallery talk, curator Shabbir Hussain Mustafa explores Latiff Mohidin's contributions to modernism by positioning the Malaysia artist within Berlin art circles of the 1960s, as well as the cultural, political and art historical milieus of Southeast Asia.

Reflections on Art | Tan Oe Pang in Conversation with Teo Hui Min

One of the most innovative practitioners working in the medium of ink today, Tan Oe Pang joins Assistant Curator Teo Hui Min to discuss the artistic concepts expressed through his work, the essential qualities of art and the dialogue between Western and Eastern aesthetics.

Chance Operations | Interview with Song-Ming Ang

Artist Song-Ming Ang discusses the exploration of sonic culture through Chance Operations, his work for the Gallery Children's Biennale, with Vanini Belarmino (Assistant Director, Programmes).

Standing on Illusion | Interview with Mark Justiniani

Artist Mark Justiniani talks about the metaphorical meaning and literary parallel of his work Stardust: Soaring Through the Sky’s Embrace in this interview with Vanini Belarmino (Assistant Director, Programmes).

Sam Yoeun’s Etchings from the 1960s

Although little known today, Sam Yoeun was one of the most prominent artists in Cambodia during the 1960s. A recent acquisition of his artworks now on display in the UOB Southeast Asia Gallery sheds new light on this fascinating figure.

Happenings at Disappearance, Bar in the Gallery

In 1973, Lee Kang-So's Disappearance, Bar in the Gallery was one of the first "happenings" he presented in Korea.

Interview with Artist Zainudin Samsuri

Zainudin Samsuri is one of the artists featured at Keppel Centre for Art Education for 2019. His work Dayung Sampan – be your own captain on deck is displayed at the Project Gallery.

We Made Space | A Conversation with Choy Weng Yang and Shabbir Hussain Mustafa

Gain insights into the early beginnings of Singapore’s museum scene in the 1970s, in this conversation with artist Choy Weng Yang, who was the curator of the National Museum Art Gallery, inaugurated in 1976.

The 90 Days Behind the 90 Seconds

Art in 90 Seconds is the Gallery's new video series by the Gallery. It brings you personal stories about the works in the Gallery’s collection, told by humans of the Gallery.

Creating Clement Space: Collaborative Design for Accessible Inclusion

The Gallery worked with artist-researcher Dr Dawn-joy Leong to develop the Gallery Calm Room, a space for visitors that allows for and encourages self-initiated sensory rest and healing.

Open Doors, Open Hearts: Creating a Dementia-Inclusive Gallery

Dementia is one of the most debilitating health conditions faced by Singapore's rapidly ageing population. Faith Lee speaks to two frontline museum workers to find out more about the Dementia Awareness Workshop they attended, conducted by the Alzheimer's Disease Association, to understand dementia better.

How Do We Tag and Track Artworks?

Find out how we tag and track artworks in the Gallery using our RFID-enabled artwork management system, and how it helps accountability to the collection and our stakeholders.

Archipelagic Futurisms

The "archipelagic" is not just a geographic condition of existing among islands. In this article, art historican, critic and curator Carlos Quijon Jr. expands on his idea of "Archipelagic Futurism."

Bumi-antara: Other Perspectives on Pattern-making and Mapping the Future

Kathleen Ditzig rounds up this Bumi-Antara takeover of Perspectives, demonstrating how the discursive threads and engagements underlying curatorial work go beyond the institution of the museum.

Bumi-Antara: Editorial Foreword

What can Southeast Asia be, beyond geography? Can it play the role in the collaborative building of a world culture?

Lim Tzay Chuen: The "Non-Artist"

Artist Lim Tzay Chuen has stated that an artist's need to create should not be influenced by a desire to present something concrete, be it an exhibition or publication.

The Nanyang School: A Fantasy in the Hearts of Commentators

In this essay, Yeo Mang Thong questions the overarching frameworks of the “Malayan school” and “Nanyang school” that have been used as broad descriptors of art produced in Singapore during the 1950s and 1960s.

Edhi Sunarso: A Life Through Archives

Edhi Sunarso is known for his monumental sculptures, many of which have come to define the cityscape of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

Local Futurisms and Extractive Pasts

The "Virgen de Cerro Rico" is an anonymous painting from the 1600s commemorating the Spanish Crown's discovery of this silver-rich mountain in 1545.

Into the Light: Constancio Bernardo and Bernadian Synthesis No. 1

Philippine artist Constancio Bernardo left for Yale University a figurative painter and returned to Manila three years later with a practice centering around geometric abstraction.

Performing Uninvited: Tang Da Wu and Don’t Give Money to the Arts

Don’t Give Money to the Arts—the remains of Tang Da Wu’s seminal performance interventions in 1995—hangs in the DBS Singapore Gallery.

Reframing Modernism: Emiria Sunassa

The 2016 exhibition Reframing Modernism: Painting from Southeast Asia, Europe and Beyond explored new ways of looking at the history of modernism in art, through an encounter between the collections of the Centre Pompidou, National Gallery Singapore and other Southeast Asian collections.

Women Making Art in the Long 19th Century: Some Glimpses

There are exciting and remarkably varied examples of art made by women in 19th century Southeast Asia, but research has largely overlooked these artists in favour of their male counterparts.

Notes on Photography: Wu Peng Seng

Curator Charmaine Toh explores the aesthetic qualities of pioneer photographer Wu Peng Seng’s images, offering fresh insight into his practice.