Featuring Path. 11, Blindness by Boedi Widjaja & Side-Eyes by Marc Nair
9 – 26 Nov 2023
Lower Gallery 1 and 2, Objectifs
Free admission
Related events
Opening and book launches | Thu 9 Nov, 6.30pm – 9pm
Artist Talk with Boedi Widjaja & Marc Nair | Thu 9 Nov, 7pm – 8pm (Please RSVP here)
Path. 11, Blindness by Boedi Widjaja
In January 2020, Boedi Widjaja was commissioned by the Exactly Foundation to look into Smart Nation, Singapore’s digitalisation drive. The pandemic that followed pointed him sharply towards the invisible, the unseen that nonetheless marked us deeply. Amidst the uncertain period of lockdowns, accelerated technological adoption and mass mRNA vaccinations.
Boedi contemplated notions of invisibility and impalpable intensities. He worked with cosmic ray muons as material, and his research culminated in experimental photography and moving-image projects: Path. 11, Blindness, Path. 12, River Origin 浪淘沙 and Path. 13, Quaver Cipher.
The interdisciplinary projects explore embodied languages and the human dimensions that lie beyond bio-technological visions. Boedi developed the photographic processes to make Path. 11, Blindness; and the images were described by renowned muography scientist Professor Hiroyuki Tanaka, University of Tokyo, as the world’s first fine-art muography that he has seen.
Side-Eyes by Marc Nair
Side-Eyes by Marc Nair considers how offence is captured photographically along the streets and public housing blocks of Bras Basah.
Usually, offence comes from a sense of insecurity. People feel this way when their identity and/or beliefs are challenged, often in a way that causes discomfort, dissonance and anger. But this doesn’t always happen on the street. The images in this exhibition are of found scenes that do not engage the viewer on a personal level.Without a relational quality, might not feel personally offended. But offence exists at many levels. We could also be offended by the actions of people captured in the frame or by the juxtaposition between the object or subject and its wider spatial setting.
All of this is also contingent upon the degree of sensitivity and perception by which people understand the quotidian. While some may not bat an eyelid at these images, it might be worth considering how they urge us to see the world a little differently; to observe its fractures and be aware of our position and privilege.
About Boedi Widjaja
Boedi Widjaja‘s art contemplates on house, home and homeland through long-running, interdisciplinary series developed in parallel. His approach is often autobiographical and oblique. Drawing as a method is a defining element; expressed through diverse media from experimental photography and architectural installations to bio art and live art, with an emphasis on process and bodily engagement.
Boedi’s projects have been presented in FACT Liverpool (2021-22), Katonah Museum of Art, New York (2021), 6th Singapore Biennale (2019-20), 9th Asia Pacific Triennial (2018-19), Diaspora Pavilion (Live Art program), 57th Venice Biennale (2017) and the inaugural Yinchuan Biennale (2016). Upcoming institutional exhibitions include the 3rd Thailand Biennale and Tropical: Stories from Southeast Asia and Latin America, National Gallery Singapore. Recent solo exhibitions include Kang Ouw《侠客行》(2022), Esplanade Tunnel, Singapore; Declaration of (2019), Helwaser Gallery, New York; and Rivers and lakes Tanah dan air (2018), ShanghART Singapore.
About Marc Nair
Marc Nair is a cultural entrepreneur from Singapore. A managing partner of The Creative Voice, he has organised indie literary festivals, developed walking tours and collaborated on diverse creative projects. Marc’s practice in the literary arts revolves around developing multidisciplinary approaches to writing, photography and performance. He has published 11 collections of poetry and has worked collaboratively with dancers, musicians, photographers and visual artists. An experienced educator, Marc holds a PhD from RMIT University.