Chewing Singapore Gum

Zulharli Adnan

Courtesy of artist

Bubble-gum free? Do you ever notice the blackish spots either on the pavements or on the roads? There are none in Singapore.
A clean and green city-state set in the lush tropical equator tempered only by its monsoon seasons, Singapore has always had a bad reputation, despite its clinical and lush appearance. Whether it is its conservative politics, its efficient mall airport, its long shopping hours, excellent food experience or, for this matter, Singapore’s great artistic community. Its dirty laundry is hanging in the air. However much Singapore seems to be an unsettling place to be, from a democratic perspective, its flavour, like any in Asia, is distinctive.

"Oral dental gum," as it is being marketed in Singapore, is solely available at various registered pharmacies. A ridiculous idea but it has returned to the shores of Singapore after 15 years absence. It returns because oral dental gum has therapeutic value or, as I believe, the free trade agreement between the US and Singapore would like us to believe so.

What has this little-known fact have to do with art? Whenever mentioning Singapore, a response would indefinitely be, "Oh! The country that banned chewing gum!" However, the arts and its community are present, alive and well, thank you.

Singapore is striving hard to change all of that. A brand new building, the Esplanade, theatres by the bay, a National Arts Council, arts program on the telly, reforming the art syllabus thereby proactively educating the younger generations, an arts fair, an art museum, a programmed biennale this year, presence in Venice and more. All these support the government’s Renaissance City proposal. Singapore’s government is spending. Yet many practitioners find the basic infrastructures of art are underdeveloped and underemphasized. The lack of a local audience, facilities for production, art amnesia, issues on censorship, licensing agreements, arts rights and laws, which make an excellent, thriving and bustling arts community instead of more glaring blank white walls to fill.

Is the government spending unwisely? Before answering, I tend to think about these same issues occurring elsewhere in Asia, Thailand for instance. Or the recent upheaval in Indonesia pertaining to a work deemed pornographic and denigrating Islam at the CP Indonesia Biennale. There is an emphasis on art-as-entertainment, with many programmes about modern art educating the masses thru popular media; television. Unlike chewing gum, chewing at art is harder and Singapore’s art cannot afford passive local viewers.

It is a tricky balancing game, knowing these issues and affecting the much needed change. Rocking the boat too vigorously will definitely bring reprisal. Not to oneself but to the whole arts community. For example, a long ban on performance art which is recently lifted. There are artists who contribute to the policy-making decisions, they strive for change and have many agendas. Some artists leave Singapore. Others abandon the whole idea of practising in Singapore or some get lost while in transit. Or there are many artists who grit their teeth and just do it, struggle with these various issues. Antidotes for such a situation are travel, residencies, exhibiting abroad or to pursue overseas studies. These are temporary solutions to reinvigorate passions and practises. Many artists, who leave the island shore in hope for greener pastures, still have close ties with Singapore. What the band of bummers, that’s how artists are still perceived in Singapore, does, is continually engage these problems. It is in some manner or form to affect and effect change on Singapore’s creative landscape, inclinations and ideology. It’s a hard climb, as it is anywhere. Along with many foreign counterparts and artists, who are warmly welcomed and are subjected to face these problems too. Importantly, there are many who return fresh for the battle. Yet, is it enough?

Not now, but damned if you don’t try. In order for the art scene to be truly vibrant and flourish, Singapore has to not only to recognise that art needs real space and support. Art is sometimes difficult, abhorrent, politically biased or otherwise speaks of many various things that sit uneasily at times within the harmonious societal construct as is freedom of speech and forum.

For a Technicolor effect, Singapore’s art doesn’t need either a coat of fresh paint or to be repackaged. It requires real room for growth and breathing space. I am not proposing a complete free-for-all nor am I dismissing what opportunities are already present, on the contrary I embrace and find pride in those. Singapore has had quite amazing feats despite criticism from outside the arts community and within. Singapore has to look at what’s really lacking for all artists and for all the arts. The culture has to be, in effect, self-sustaining from outside and within (governmental support), only then, will the cultural landscape be fruitful. The winds of change are blowing. Like Brokeback Mountain, it is a milestone as the first openly gay film in Singapore. I am hopeful for the arts as well. Singapore has kept its racial harmony well in balance, perhaps art, could be managed in such a way.

Singapore has but a handful of independent art spaces, some mentioned here: Substation, Plastique Kinetic Worms, Mother Gallery and P-10. Perumal 10, thus P-10, (www.p-10.org), being the most recent and to my mind, most brilliant of co-ops. It was created in 2004 by Woon Tien Wei and partners, Jennifer Teo, Lim Kok Boon, Lim Sze-Chin and Charles Lim. P-10 is a conglomeration of affordable studio, makeshift gallery, publishing house, workshops, art talk area, basically anything that any one dares to propose plus rent, kind of space in the heart of Little India. P-10 also offers arts project management and a curatorial team. It is young and innovative. It is based on the practise of art in its broadest sense. Woon Tien Wei, Lim Kok Boon, Charles Lim, Donna Ong, Lee Sze-Chin amongst other artists, pursued studies in London. All practitioners feed the much needed new blood into the arts bloodline.

Meanwhile Plastique Kinetic Worms (PKW for short, www.pkworms.org.sg) is established yet dwindles with its function and programme. PKW main strength now would be its international residency programme for any foreign artist or artists wishing to working temporarily in Singapore. Recently, PKW had to terminate its own quarterly arts publication, Vehicle. It is a great shame. The only locally produced visual arts magazine had to be axed.

Commercial art galleries in Singapore, meanwhile vies for net profits. Yet, Art Galleries Association (Singapore) fails to provide our art thirsty tourists and art shoppers with a comprehensive user friendly and simple map. Gallery listings are available from the association. But Singapore hasn’t an A to Z guide. Getting around is fairly painless and easy, if you know where you are heading to or conveniently just jump into a cab. That is if, you are earning pounds not Singapore dollars. TAKSU (www.taksu.com) is a commercial art gallery in swanky Holland Village (read expatriate village). Gallery directors; Suherwan Abu Hassan and Judy Yuen Suherwan have managed to contend the complacency of Singapore’s art businesses and dealers with a divergent approach concentrating on quality and the contemporary, as opposed to fine art. Linking all its bases and galleries, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore and Langkawi, TAKSU offers contemporary Asian art and otherwise, at its best and is a conflation of the essences; Asian influence and Western affluence. Location as in any business is important, where else but Holland Village if you really look at which of the local urban socialites who really buys and collect contemporary Art in Singapore.

There are organizations and people breathing life and credibility into the arts. Art needs context. There is much gained when international art and artists are exhibited, researched and discussed in Singapore; LASALLE-SIA, College of the Arts and its Institute of Contemporary Arts, Singapore along with Singapore Art Museum and others, is providing such.

These are little known facts of the current climate of art in Singapore. It may be a tiny dot on the world map but it is formidable especially economically within Asia. Artistically, it is a different picture. Or is it? But from who’s perspective?

Facets within the production, dissemination and consumption of art occurs in Singapore at various levels and permutations, be it visible or invisible, be it on a micro or macro level, like the various colourful products on the shelves of the local pharmacies are for very different purposes.

So which flavour of chewing gum do you prefer? Blackcurrant or Strawberry? Yet no one has ever created a flavour that is distinct from the rest. For example, Durian, also known as King of Fruit (a golden, sweet flesh but rancid smell), flavoured chewing gum or "oral dental gum", is there a difference besides its chemical compounds? It is still the same act and leaves similar imprints on the pavements. But, elsewhere you wouldn’t require an ID when buying oral dental gum. The streets are gum-free – such is the ordinary state of things in Singapore.

Being away from Singapore, my initial feelings of frustrations within begins to fade and turn into a little sense of pride. Let’s face it. A sense of belonging, from a distance, would inevitably surface when we weigh the pros and cons of a given place. Nothing is easy when given the multitude of choices to make or whatever the goals in lives are or in this case, an extreme difference of place. Being from Singapore, this fact then becomes like a badge we wear, a symbol or an icon. Creepily it is now proudly on our shoulder or on our lips; the red and white, crescent moon and the five stars. There is miniature Singaporean flag carried wherever I go.

I have had many conversations about this with fellow Singaporeans. Like all of us, Singaporeans or heart-landers (a recent catch phrase in Singapore), are unashamed to tell anyone where we are from. The sense of belonging or roots so to speak is only but a fact and it ends there. For what does it mean to be a Singaporean? Or an Asian Singaporean? The many sun kissed skin tones we have or the various races or languages in Singapore, we all do speak English or an appropriation in Singapore is, Sing-lish (Singaporean-English). It is neither purely Asian nor Western. A cross road? It’s a mish-mash of everything. There are few true breeds found. Perhaps that’s why our neighbours often question our authenticity. To some of us, the question of identity isn’t of importance. What is? The answer would be practising art, knowing its current discourse and living it.

Benny Soo Tho

Benny Soo Tho (28) is a recent post-graduate from Central Saint Martins, College of Art and Design, London. This is about the only other thing he shares with Jason Lim and I. A Straits-born Chinese by birth, speaks English as his first language and is married to a beautiful German woman. Soo Tho works and lives in Great Britain. For the past six years since leaving Singapore, his practise has diversified from paintings, drawings and installation to include publishing his own artist book, photography, web-based art and product design based art. His latest project is a web catalogue for artists (www.andc.co.uk).

A recent work exhibited in Chiang-Mai, Thailand under the exhibition entitled, Identities Versus. Globalisation; Positions of Contemporary Art in Southeast Asia, Soo Tho offered the viewers, There Can Only Be One, 2004.

A shelf trimmed by white skirting weighed by trophies of various shapes and sizes on green felt. These trophies sat as any other private collection either on the mantle or in a glass cabinet. Accolades in the form of Perspex objects that signify achievements and when. Yet, what is seemingly ordinary becomes disconcerting. On each one of the trophies plaques, a single name is engraved; Benny Soo Tho. The glaring glow of gold and silver becomes uncomfortable as one reads various competitions or activities, this particular name / person or character has amassed, fictitiously or otherwise. Humour is utmost key. As anyone laughs it out and turns bright red, they couldn’t help but wonder; who is Benny Soo Tho?

The work seeks to address identification, its place and the associative description given to either, a name, a task or a job as a lateral comparison to the fundamental questions; who is an artist? What is function of an artist? Is there a difference to the validity and need of art as any other jobs? Ingeniously crafted and calculated, what is there to a name and a job? It doesn’t provide us with any absolutes. The work draws pertinent question marks on many assumptions, biased opinions and entrenched beliefs that artists are somehow or other, super-emotive, irrational and guided by the transcendental forces of nature. It is ironic. The work reinforces a strain of thought that speaks for a thinking artist. An artist who is a multi talented and a multi-tasking individual accomplished at a multitude of tasks and have many different areas of interest. Pride is but a virtue and NOT a sin. Race is not an issue even if his last name is repetitive. The work successfully adopts the language of objects and symbols present in the real world.

I am the Champion. And there is no Other!

I am the Champion,

So are you
You can be too little,

once you stop suckling your thumb

Look at that lady with the big red hat,

She too is champion

And so is her cat,

So if we are all champions

Then one must remember

That I am the champion

And there is no other.

Like Christopher Lambert in the Highlander, "There can only be one!" or Jet Li in ‘The One’, immortality and the notion of multi dimensions paved way for the existence of the self(s), are some of Soo Tho’s interests. It is with confidence saying, ‘I am the Champion’. Soo Tho pens organically. Be it poems or stories or his thoughts, they are delightful and insightful as his observations. His sense of imagination, his analytical language and his visual outputs runs concurrently, one bleeds into the other thus strengthening the other. He is an emerging artist who is borderless and isn’t easily fitted into a box.

There can Only be One 2004, then could be considered as an extension of his book entitled BENNY SOO THO and other short stories. It is a collection of his drawings and writings. Printed and produced by Soo Tho himself, it mimics all the essentials codes of publishing; ISBN number, a barcode, rights reserved and disclaimer. All of the stories woven in the book are his creation. They centre on his name, possibilities and making visual approximations of the imagined self(s) or others, in various imagined situations or other parallel worlds.

In the book, Benny Soo Tho is a man or a woman, a lawyer or a businessman or a homeless person and etc. Benny Soo Tho isn’t indicated by race or nationality. He or she is neither Asian nor Caucasian, neither African nor any other. A drawing is accompanied by a story on the adjacent page. It is simple in presentation. In black and white print, page after page of its 13 chapters, Benny Soo Tho is set with different circumstances, outcomes and different occupations. A fan of comics and animation, Soo Tho lucidly creates a correlation between image and text.

An oeuvre of Benny Soo Tho I await.

Chewing Singapore Gum – Zulharli Adnan

Chewing Singapore Gum