OH! Jalan Besar (2021)
4 Sep – 31 Oct 2021, Jalan Besar, Art Walk
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Besar is big in Malay; its big-ness lies in complexity. Jalan is to walk.
OH! Jalan Besar: Refuge for Strangers is a guided mini art walk that grapples with the Other-ness of Jalan Besar.
Scattered across secret spaces in Jalan Besar are the works of 4 artists. The artists' gaze is not only about Jalan Besar and its ever-evolving communities, but also the indeterminacy of meaning to say: we can never truly know Jalan Besar, because it is not ours. It's theirs, the transient workers, the fringes of society, the sunset trades and disappearing clans. And we can only begin to enter as outsiders to this underbelly: this refuge for strangers.
Learn more about the artists and their works here.
OH! Jalan Besar: Refuge for Strangers is a guided mini art walk that grapples with the Other-ness of Jalan Besar.
Scattered across secret spaces in Jalan Besar are the works of 4 artists. The artists' gaze is not only about Jalan Besar and its ever-evolving communities, but also the indeterminacy of meaning to say: we can never truly know Jalan Besar, because it is not ours. It's theirs, the transient workers, the fringes of society, the sunset trades and disappearing clans. And we can only begin to enter as outsiders to this underbelly: this refuge for strangers.
Learn more about the artists and their works here.
Artists
Alan Oei (b.1976, Singapore) is an artist-curator whose work and projects examine the intersection of art history and politics. He has a BA in Art History from Columbia University and a Diploma in Fine Arts from LASALLE College of the Arts. Oei is the artistic director of OH! Open House. He was formerly the artistic director of The Substation from 2016 to 2019 and Sculpture Square from 2012 to 2014. He was Associate Artist with The Substation from 2000 to 2005, and has exhibited in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Melbourne and New York.
Min-Wei Ting (b.1976, Singapore) is an artist-filmmaker. Working mainly on his own, his films are gestures in protracted observation and movement with the camera. He explores the landscape of streets, buildings and forests, as a way to speak of natural and man-made phenomena, human and non-human existence, or the complex tangle of people with the state and the land. His work has been presented in art spaces and film festivals such as The Substation, International Film Festival Rotterdam, and Singapore International Film Festival. In 2019, he was shortlisted for the Berlin Art Prize, and exhibited at The Institute for Endotic Research (TIER).
Nature Shankar (b.1996, Singapore) graduated with BA Honours at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, in partnership with Loughborough University. Her practice revolves around textiles and hand embroidery. Through her process-driven work, she investigates belonging and existence in its raw and often uncomfortable uncertainty by contextualising personal experiences and narratives. Her works have been exhibited at The Hive Gallery and Studios, USA (2018), Gajah Gallery, Indonesia (2018), C On temporary, Indonesia (2020) and Jendela Visual Arts Space, Singapore (2021). She has participated in residencies at ChaNorth by ChaShama, New York City, USA, OH! Open House, Singapore and Studio Batur in Bandung, Indonesia. She co-founded and runs the arts initiative Our Softest Hour.
Subhas (b.1992, Singapore) is a Tamil-Malayali independent rap/hip-hop artist who works to make his music obsolete; artefacts of a more oppressive, authoritarian times. He creates music to be the soundtrack to revolutionary change. Subhas recently released his two-part sophomore album, 'Tabula Rasa (Tak Boleh Rasa)' on Telegram and it was produced without state sponsorship or censorship.
Special thanks to:
Mr Phua (Wayman Enterprise)
Mr Mohsin (Editor, Banglar Kantha, Bangladesh Centre Singapore)
Design: @madebybeverley