Introductory Remarks
The inaugural long-term display for the DBS Singapore Gallery emerged through extensive discussions with art historians, artists, critics and curators on how “modernism” in Singapore should be understood and presented. These conversations questioned definitions, historical frameworks and the tendency to construct linear narratives of artistic progress tied to national identity. Curators examined whether such narratives remain meaningful or merely reinforce established ideas. Amid these debates, the exhibition Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century took shape as a curatorial response that navigates these tensions and competing interpretations.
The inaugural long-term display for the DBS Singapore Gallery emerged through extensive discussions with art historians, artists, critics and curators on how “modernism” in Singapore should be understood and presented. These conversations questioned definitions, historical frameworks and the tendency to construct linear narratives of artistic progress tied to national identity. Curators examined whether such narratives remain meaningful or merely reinforce established ideas. Amid these debates, the exhibition Siapa Nama Kamu? Art in Singapore since the 19th Century took shape as a curatorial response that navigates these tensions and competing interpretations.
Chapters Overview
These discussions have been heavily supplemented by the careful study of work done at key art institutions, galleries and independent art spaces in Singapore since the 1950s.
Director’s Foreword
Image Plates