Merlion Wayfarer was recently at a travelling exhibition presented by Maybank Foundation on contemporary artworks by six established South East Asian artists who were inspired by the cultural history and art of the region’s weaving heritage. Displayed at the National Museum of Singapore concourse, the exhibition was curated by Singapore’s Chan + Hori Contemporary and will run from 21 August 21 to 08 September 2019.
The Maybank Women Eco-Weavers is an economic empowerment programme designed to support traditional weaving practices in a sustainable manner whilst creating economic independence and financial inclusion for women weavers across the ASEAN region. The programme showcases the bank's role towards a more inclusive ASEAN, by strengthening women’s empowerment and gender equality in the region to support the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
Traditional textile weaving is an ancient art form and today, it provides a source of income for a diminishing number of women weavers regionally. Through the exhibition entitled “Entwine: Maybank Women Eco-Weavers meet Southeast Asian Artists”, the public will have a glimpse into the livelihood and artistic talents of traditional weavers living in rural parts of Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia, who have been supported by the Maybank Women Eco-Weavers programme.
The textiles from different countries vary in their use of the patterns and the material used...
Mr. Shahril Azuar Jimin, CEO of Maybank Foundation, said, “Since 2016, the Maybank Women Eco-Weavers programme has partnered local social enterprises and NGOs to provide an ecosystem for the sustained development of weaving crafts and environmentally-friendly production practices within the region. Six contemporary artists visited our weavers in their natural environment and responded to their experiences after meeting artisans of different weaving communities, and hence, we put together this exhibition to showcase the art creations alongside naturally-dyed and handwoven fabrics from the eco-weavers, in celebration of ASEAN’s arts and culture.”
Artists and Curator’s Profiles
Curator: Khairuddin Hori
Khairuddin Hori (b. 1974, Singapore) is best known for his multidisciplinary and unconventional approach to curating, supported by his experience in theatre and work as an artist. Khai’s profile was placed on spotlight in 2014 after he was invited onboard Europe’s largest and internationally renowned art center, Palais de Tokyo in Paris, France as its Deputy Director of Artistic Programming. Prior to that, Khai was Senior Curator at the Singapore Art Museum, overseeing Singapore’s national collection for contemporary art, and Senior Curator at the Curatorial Development department of the National Heritage Board, Singapore. In 2018, in partnership with the National Arts Council, Singapore Khai was commissioned to curate DISINI a new visual arts festival featuring outdoor sculptures, public programmes and exhibitions, He was also the curator behind LOCK ROUTE, the first international outdoor sculpture exhibition at visual art precinct, Gillman Barracks in 2017.
Khai explaining the functions of the loom and how it is used for weaving...
In 2016, Khai co-curated In Praise of Shadows, a sustainable light art festival in the Marina Bay precinct; was an international affiliate of “What happens now?”: Public Art Melbourne Biennial Lab (2016) and co-curator of The Light of the Light by Quistrebert brothers. Other notable projects include Tianzhuo Chen, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2015); Sous la lune, Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore (2015); Secret Archipelago, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2015); Open SEA, Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon (2015); Welcome to the Jungle, Yokohama Museum of Art and Contemporary Art Museum Kumamoto, Japan (2013); If the World Changed, Singapore Biennale (2013); Lucid Dreams in the Reverie of the Real, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2012); and Negotiating Home, History and Nation, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (2011). Khai is currently Curatorial Director and Partner at Chan + Hori Contemporary in Singapore.
Artist 1: Sheryo
Sheryo (b. 1984, Singapore) is a visual/mural artist who started painting in the streets in 2005. Her art seeks to investigate, analyse and document the human psyche and frustrations towards contemporary lifestyles. She works across mediums, from 2D paintings to 3D sculptures, installations and moving images. Her style, often referencing pulp illustrations and skateboard graphics, comes across as jovial and surreal imagery that speaks to those who grew up admiring 80’s and 90’s skateboarding and surfing culture.
She has exhibited and painted murals around the world with fellow artist, Yok. Select exhibitions include Art from the Streets at the ArtScience Museum in Singapore (2018), Forest for the Trees at Sodo Track Mural Festival in Seattle, U.S.A. (2018) and Double Tigers at Baandam Museum in Chiang Rai, Thailand (2017).
Naga Wheel : This is a re-interpretation of a silk-spinning wheel from the Lao Sericulture weaving centre where Mdm Kommaly shared stories of her legacy with Sheryo...
Artist 2: Sharon Chin
Sharon Chin (b. 1980, Malaysia) works across a variety of media, developing narratives on environmental and political issues on her home country. One of her well-known series, Local Flora, Patterns (2017) is an installation piece based on 25 floral patterns she developed as illustrations for Creatures of Near Kingdoms, a book of short stories by Malaysian writer Zedeck Siew. This work was collected by the Singapore Art Museum.
Sharon is featured in the 2019 Singapore Biennale and participated in the 2013 Singapore Biennale with Mandi Bunga/Flower Bath, where over 100 people gathered to bathe together on the lawn of the National Museum of Singapore, making front page news of The Straits Times. Her works have also been shown at institutions such as the National Art Gallery of Malaysia, Galeri Petronas, Singapore Art Museum and Incheon Culture and Arts Centre, Korea. She has also been on residencies and festivals in Vietnam, Myanmar, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan.
Yang Tersirat Dan Tersurat : Following her visit to the Lenek Lauk Village in Lombok, Sharon invited 40 individual women weavers to create 240 woven strips...
The motifs, colours and materials decided by each woman, accompanied by their names and titles which hinted at stories behind their weaving...
Gaps in the hanging arrangement create negative space, which also represents the invisible labour of women...
Artist 3: Lyle Buencamino
Lyle Buencamino (b. 1978, The Philippines) graduated with a Bachelor in Fine Arts majoring in Painting. He is known for his large-scale paintings based on movie stills produced by the now-defunct LVN Productions in the 1950's - what is often referred to as the 'Golden Age' in Filipino cinema. His series, No Fighting in the Museum, began as a reflection on propriety and behaviour in institutions and other similar public spaces.
Lyle has held three solo exhibitions thus far, namely Death of the Last Romantic at Finale Art File (2013); All The Symptoms But Not The Disease at Ateneo Art Gallery (2008) and A Bowtie for John Lyle at Mag:net Gallery (2006). Selected exhibitions include Mutable Truths: Perspectives in Philippine Contemporary Art Practices at the Ateneo Art Gallery in Manila (2017); What does it all matter, as long as the wounds fit the arrows? at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (2014) and No talking points 2 at TAKSU Gallery in Singapore (2013). His latest solo exhibition was presented at Chan + Hori Contemporary in Singapore in 2019.
Escape From/To Kuching : During his visit to the Tanoti Crafts showroom in Kuching, Lyle encountered an ornate songket Sarawak pattern. Through this inspiration, by knotting fabrics together, Lyle imagine an "escape rope" from the scaffolding structure to the ground...
Artist 4: Ubatsat Sutta
Ubatsat Sutta (b. 1980, Thailand) obtained a Master’s Degree in Philosophy and Religion at Chiang Mai University in Thailand in 2007 and is currently reading his PhD in Buddhism at Mahachulalongkorn University in Thailand. He was previously the artist assistant to Thai artist, Rirkrit Tiravanija. In 2017, he participated in an artist residency programme in Rikuzentakata and Paradise Air in Tokyo. His group exhibitions include Food Matters at Karin Weber Gallery, Hong Kong (2018); Articulation Existence at the Baan Tuek Art Center, Chiang Mai, Thailand (2017) and In the Remembrance of the Great King at the Bangkok Art & Culture Centre in Bangkok, Thailand (2017). His solo exhibition, Sox Stars, took place in 2019 at the CMU Art Centre in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Harry The Train Song : Ubatsat reflects different evolutions of the Royal Railway in this artwork, with colour palettes representing paint jobs of carriages and key stations along the track...
Artist 5: Shahrul Jamili Miskon
Shahrul Jamili Miskon (b. 1978, Malaysia) trained as a ceramicist in Central Academy of Arts, Kuala Lumpur and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Surrey Institute of Arts, UK in 2003. He later went on to study at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization (ISTAC), International Islamic University, Malaysia, graduating in 2013. Typically found working with materials and approaches such as aluminium, paper, print, sculpture and installation art, Shahrul favours geometric principles as fundamental junctures and philosophical footing in both art and religiosity. His solo exhibition, METALANGUAGE took place at Chan + Hori Contemporary in Singapore in 2017. Other exhibitions include Cannot be Bo(a)rdered at the Urban Art Fair, Paris, France (2017); Pangea at the International Art Biennial, Shah Alam, Malaysia (2016) and New Object(ion) III at Galerie Petronas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Artist 6: Lugas Syllabus
Lugas Syllabus (b. 1987, Indonesia) is a contemporary artist who lives and works in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. He is widely known for his paintings and sculptures that address the ironies and contradictions in modern and contemporary society. Woven into his pieces are narratives and iconography from pop culture, media and technology; coupled with memories and folklore. The artist completed his undergraduate degree in painting at the Institut Seni Indonesia (ISI) in Yogyakarta. His solo exhibitions include We Dance Together at Chan + Hori Contemporary in Singapore (2018), Tomorrow Must Be Better at Element Art Space, Shanghai, China (2017); Natural Born Worker at Finale Art File in the Philippines (2017) and The Garden of Triumph at Art Stage Singapore (2016). He has participated in artist residencies in Passau, Germany; Brisbane, Australia and Singapore. Awards he has garnered include the Artmajeur Art Award (Silver) in 2009 and the Second Heritage Winner for Portraits of Indonesia at the National Museum of Indonesia. He was featured in the DISINI public art festival at Gillman Barracks, Singapore, by Chan + Hori Contemporary which ran from January to September 2018, and is a participating artist in ArtJog MMXIX, Arts in Common (2019) with a work titled Berbatas tapi Tak Terbatas (Painting set).
(Photo Credit : Maybank)
Curator tours, storytelling for children and weaving demonstrations are available over the next three weekends. All activities are free of charge, and are listed here at www.facebook.com/events/2218040074975525/.
