Hands up, those of you who’ve heard of 5th Passage? Now, hands up those of you who’ve heard of Josef Ng and the pubic hair – cutting incident of 1994, which led to the end of performance art funding in Singapore for a decade ?
If all you know about 5th Passage, is that it was the venue of the latter incident, then boy oh boy, does Gajah Gallery have a thing or two to show you. In its latest exhibition, 5th Passage: In Search of Lost Time the gallery, with curator John Tung, tackles the tricky history of this notorious 1990s art space located in a passageway on the 5th floor of Parkway Parade Shopping Centre.
There were so many gems here, both hidden and in plain sight. Eve Tan’s A.G.A , 2021 is a Narnia- like secret wardrobe made in the dimensions of a 3- man prison cell in Singapore.
In it, she commemorates the work done by the Artist’s General Assembly, a 1993 arts festival organised by the 5th Passage together with The Artist’s Village. It was an event that we overheard visitors referring to in hushed tones as being “almost like a Biennale, with more than 50 participating artists, many of whom are big names today.”
There’s also Suzann Victor’s amazing new Shadow Work.
Here, she’s engraved photographic scenes from 5th Passage’s past, into lenses, such that they cast spidery pulsating shadows on the gallery floor:
(If you get a chance, ask gallery staff for details on the people depicted in those lenses, there are some key figures in the local arts scene who feature here quite unexpectedly).
There’s also a tonne of archival material to trawl through, and an excellent timeline of facts and history to pore over.
The show runs till 17 Oct- don’t miss it !
