PIPELINEDREAMS

Issue 47 March / April 2015

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INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ART MAGAZINE BASED IN HONG KONG

Popular Cinema

流行影院Institute of Contemporary Arts

Singapore (ICA)

原文 Ruyi Wong

Singapore by Singapore: From myth to neon realism January 24th 2015.

A short film on the May 13 generation by Jason Soo, 2014. Video still, 19’25”. © the artist.Courtesy the artist and Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore.

86 87March April 2015 PiPeline Dreams

left pageSunsets of another world by Kevin foong, 2010. Video still, 1’00”. © the artist.Courtesy the artist and Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore.

This pageSunshine Singapore by Rajendra Gour, 1968-72. Still,16 mm film, 6’47”. © the artist. Courtesy the artist and Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore.

on January 24th, the Institute of Contem-

porary Arts Singapore presented Singa-

pore By Singapore: From Myth To Neon

Realism, a screening of nine Singaporean-

made films and videos, curated by Silke

Schmickl and nicole Brenez. The films

were shown on a six-metre-wide screen

in the public space of the ICA, making the

exhibition more about popular cinema,

rather than a gallery experience.

A display of films from directors of different

generations and styles included work from

veteran filmmaker Rajendra Gour, one of

Singapore’s earliest independent

filmmakers, whose career began in the

1960s; from a younger generation of well-

known filmmakers such as Tan Pin Pin and

Ho Tzu nyen; and from emerging names

such as nelson Yeo and Wesley leon

Aroozoo. The films were screened

chronologically, starting with Gour’s silent

16mm film Sunshine Singapore (1963-72),

which captured images of a nascent nation’s

daily life and hopeful future, and closing

with liao Jiekai’s Bukit Orang Salah (2013),

with its ominous final scene of Singapore’s

urban skyline from the perspective of the

uninhabited Saint John’s Island. By tracing

a portrait of Singapore from mangrove to

metropolis, the programme proposed a

nearly tactile experience – a new sensual

dimension of the cinematic experience,

more ambiguous and abstract, rather than

storytelling.

In Tan Pin Pin’s 9 August (2006), the

artist took 41 years of footage of

Singapore’s national Day parade, since

independence in 1965, and gave it a

sinister meaning through combinations

and juxtapositions. Beneath the sheen

of the parade, one sees the unchanged

patterns of heavily choreographed shows

and lavish assembly of military troops and

aircraft. ubiquitous placards carrying the

words “efficiency”, “Progression” and

“Harmony” create a satirical effect,

rendering the celebration a circus freak

show. The filmmaker’s oeuvre is pinned

to her taste for controversial points in

national history.

Ho Tzu nyen’s Utama – Every Name in

History is I (2003), a historical melodrama

about Singapore’s pre-colonial founder,

Sang nila utama, and his early mythic

presence and experiences on the rustic

island, is heavy on the identity politics of

national history. Ho’s theatrical mise-en-

scène collapses time and space by

invoking other historical periods and

figures, such as Christopher Columbus,

Admiral Zheng He and Sir Thomas

Stamford Raffles, exposing the complex

intersections between state’s authoritative

and mythical versions of history, fiction,

power, bias and hopes.

Considering the difficulty for audiences of ap-

preciating time-based art within the confines

of a gallery space, the curators favoured a

community-cinema, free format outdoors,

emulating civic and neighbourly together-

ness and the rites of popular festivals.

於1月24日，新加坡當代藝術學院（ICA）

呈獻《新加坡看新加坡：從神話傳說到新

現實主義》（Singapore By Singapore:

From Myth To Neon Realism），由 Silke

Schmickl 和 Nicole Brenez 策劃，放映

了九套新加坡電影和影集，於ICA的公共

空間裡的六米寬的大銀幕呈現。與其說觀

眾來到了畫廊，不如說來到了流行影院。

展覽裡的電影題材多樣，由不同年代和風

格的導演執導。以下為大家介紹有份於

是次展覽的導演，其中包括老牌製片人

Rajendra Gour，他從60年代起便開始

電影製作，是新加坡最早的獨立製片人之

一；年輕一代的知名製片人，如陳彬彬和

何子彥；新興的製片人，如 Nelson Yeo

和Wesley Leon Aroozoo。影片按照時

序放映，Gour 製作的無聲16毫米電影《

陽光新加坡》（Sunshine Singapore）

（1963-72）最先呈現大銀幕，拍下了新

成立國家的日常運作與充滿希望的影像。

廖捷凱的《Bukit Orang Salah》 （2013

）中，最後一幕意味不祥，定格於新加坡

的天際線，從無人居住的聖約翰島看過

去的天際線，亦成為整個放映的結幕。透

過追溯新加坡的面貌——從紅樹林到大都

市，實現了一個近乎觸覺的體驗。這是一

個包含感性層面的影院新體驗，更抽象模

糊，而不是講故事而已。

於陳彬彬的《八月九日》（9 August）

（2006），從1965年，新加坡獨立那年

起，藝術家花了41年去拍攝新加坡國慶巡

遊，並透過片段整合並置，賦予國慶巡遊

一個崩壞的意味。在華麗的巡遊背後，有

人看到一成不變的舞蹈表演和軍隊和軍用

飛機出場的豪華典禮。標著「效率」、「

發展」、和「和諧」的標語牌無處不在，

效果諷刺，將這個慶典變成了一場「馬騮

戲」。陳彬彬的作品反映了她對新加坡歷

史的爭議點。

何子彥的《Utama – Every Name in His-

tory is I》 (2003)，是一套關於 Sang Nila

Utama 的歷史情景劇。他在新加坡殖民

時期前發現了新加坡，神話般出現在這個

鄉野島嶼上，在這裡有神話般的經歷。電

影著墨於國家歷史的身份政治問題。何的

場面調度瓦解了時間和空間，讓人記起其

他歷史時期和歷史人物，例如哥倫布、三

寶太監鄭和，還有萊佛士爵士，揭露了國

家主權和神話傳記之間複雜的交叉點：歷

史、摩擦、權力、偏見和希望。

考慮到難以在畫廊空間裡讓觀眾細味這些

藝術作品，策展人偏好社區影院、自由戶

外的模式來進行展覽，模仿睦鄰團結和節

日儀式的感覺。

88 89March April 2015 PiPeline Dreams