25 May 2023 — Children’s Biennale returns to National Gallery Singapore
With June on its way and numerous holiday events around the corner, the National Gallery Singapore presents this year’s Children’s Biennale, which opens on 27 May 2023 and runs till March 2024.
There are 11 new works which invite visitors to consider our relationships with others and the environment with empathy and mindfulness. Boasting immersive and compelling forms, the works also imaginatively interpret the biennale’s four key values of Care, Collaborate, Imagine, and Respect.
Check out the photos below for what went down at the media preview.
Textile artist Izziyana Suhaimi introducing her work, which incorporates re-purposed textiles to encourage children to start thinking about consumption and environmentalism from a young age. (Right) Thai artist Tawatchai Puntusawasdi with his installation. Moving around the installation allows you to see it from different perspectives, revealing new shapes and forms. (Left) Japanese artist Kumi Yamashita with her work depicting a sculpture of human profiles blurred together. Accompanying this is a machine where children can record their heartbeat and listen to it reverberate throughout the space; encouraging us to think about our connections and relationships with each other. Chiang Yu Xiang (centre) introducing his toddler-friendly work, which features soft blocks and illustrative visuals. Inspired by transport in Singapore, the work encourages visitors to build and imagine their own modes of travel by placing the soft blocks together.(Left) A child activating Wang Ruobing’s Tide, an “immersive kinetic artwork” inspired by the moving tide. Once a button is pressed, the installation moves and reveals the marine debris hanging off the wall. The debris was collected from Singapore’s coastline by non-profit groups, highlighting our impact on the environment and the dangers of pollution. (Right) A brief look into the installation The Magic Forest. It’s presented by the Norway-based International Museum of Children’s Art, which seeks to display artwork created by children. Artist Ly Yeow in her installation When I Am With You, which is inspired by intertidal zones (where the ocean meets the land between high and low tides). The installation features tactile experiences that encourage children to identify, empathise with, and respect marine life. There’s even a soft stuffed-toy shell you can curl up in, to mimic the life of a hermit crab!(Left) Dr Natalie Alexandra Tse (a.k.a LittleCr3atures) introducing the toddler-friendly immersive space HUTAN, a between LittleCr3atures, Jevon Chandra, and Lynette Quek. (Right) A look inside forest-themed HUTAN, which boasts a host of sensorial experiences.
Feature Image: When I Am With You by Ly Yeow. Fabric, fibreglass, resin, sea shells, metal, cardboard and vinyl. 2023. Created for Gallery Children’s Biennale 2023: Let’s Make a Better Place. Image credit: Joseph Nair, Memphis West Pictures.
