Terms & Conditions
dal 26/6/2013 al 7/9/2013
Segnalato da
26/6/2013
Terms & Conditions
Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
An open-ended debate into how history and social realities are represented, with an emphasis on the Arab world. One of the first Southeast Asian surveys of contemporary art from this dynamic region, the exhibition showcases works by artists with roots in the Arab world.
Guest curator, Mandy Merzaban
The Singapore Art Museum (SAM) is proud to partner Sharjah-based
Barjeel Art Foundation to present Terms & Conditions, one of Southeast Asia’s first surveys of
contemporary art by artists from the Arab world. The exhibition features key works by artists such as
Jananne Al-Ani, Huda Lutfi, Hassan Sharif and Sharif Waked, drawn from the Barjeel Art Foundation,
the Abraaj Group Art Prize Collection, Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Musée national de
l'histoire et des cultures de l'immigration, CNHI Paris, as well as the collections of private individuals
and artists.
The exhibition features 16 artworks specially selected to introduce audiences in Singapore to
contemporary art of the Arab world. Majority of the works were created in the last five years,
offering a window to this emerging contemporary art scene and the issues, ideals and challenges
that contemporary artists are engaging with today. Terms & Conditions is an open-ended debate
about the representation of history, identities and social realities, especially through the works of
artists with links to the Arab world. Although history and geography are powerful forces shaping
contemporary practice today, the artists in this exhibition grapple also with the challenges of
speaking to the world beyond their specific localities, and what it takes to be visible, to communicate
one's desires, hopes and fears amidst the push and pull of larger political, economic, and cultural
forces – in other words, how one can be visible and have a voice within the terms and conditions of
society today.
Featured artworks include Jananne Al-Ani’s Shadow Sites II, a haunting video work – recently shown
at the Sydney and Sharjah Biennales – of an aerial journey that reveals activity in a desert landscape
otherwise thought to be uninhabited, to question perspectives and preconceptions; pioneering
conceptual artist Hassan Sharif’s seminal installation Cow Belly, first commissioned for the Mathaf-
Arab Museum of Modern Art, with its poignant critique of consumerism and hunger; while Adel
Abdessemed’s seven gigantic hand-blown Murano glass microphones in Fatalite is both satirical and
sad in its commentary on the limits of discourse. Other iconic works in the exhibition include cultural
historian Huda Lutfi’s Democracy is Coming, a mixed media work that depicts famed Egyptian
songstress Umm Kalthoum with military planes flying overhead, referring to the irony of attaining
democracy through violence.
Terms & Conditions presents an open-ended debate into how history and social realities are
represented, with an emphasis on the Arab world. One of the first Southeast Asian surveys of
contemporary art from this dynamic region, the exhibition showcases works by artists with roots in
the Arab world. These artists work across different geographic and cultural contexts, and through a
combination of techniques, to produce unique artworks that fluidly traverse and defy social
identities and representations.
Co-organised by the Singapore Art Museum and Barjeel Art Foundation, and guest curated by Mandy
Merzaban, Curator and Collections Manager of the Barjeel Art Foundation, Terms & Conditions
draws upon seminal works from Barjeel Art Foundation, the Abraaj Group Art Prize Collection,
Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Musée national de l'histoire et des cultures de l'immigration,
CNHI Paris, as well as the collections of private individuals and artists.
Terms & Conditions will run from 28 June to 8 September 2013 at the Singapore Art Museum. A
special tour by guest curator Mandy Merzaban, along with an artist talk by Khalil Joreige and Moataz
Nasr, will also be offered for visitors to gain further insight into the themes and key pieces in the
exhibition.
Artist Presentation: Khalil Joreige and Moataz Nasr
Friday, 28 June 2013 | 7:30pm to 9pm
Join in an exciting line-up of artist presentations at the opening weekend of Terms & Conditions, and
take a closer look as Khalil Joreige and Moataz Nasr share about their works in the exhibition and
their practice.
Curator Tour
Saturday, 29 June 2013 | 4pm to 5pm
Guest curator, Mandy Merzaban of the Barjeel Art Foundation, leads a tour of Terms & Conditions
and shares insights into the themes of key pieces. The exhibition features a dynamic range of
artworks by leading international contemporary artists, and provides an inquisitive open-ended
debate into how history and social realities are represented - with an emphasis on the Arab world.
$12 (includes admission to the exhibition). Tickets available at SAM and SISTIC.
Limited spaces. For ticket availability at the door, please call SISTIC.
Visit Art Garden during our Open House days on 29 & 30 June and enjoy a series of free, fun-filled activities for everyone in the family! From 11am to 6pm, join in the special activities inspired by the Art Garden exhibition and its theme Imagination, and bring home your very own piece of handicraft or souvenir.
Image: Moataz Nasr, Elshaab, 2012 (detail)
Stephanie Aw Yong
Manager Marketing & Corporate Communications Singapore Art Museum DID: 6332 3919 Email: Stephanie_Aw_Yong@nhb.gov.sg
Opening: 27 June 2013, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Artist Talk: 28 June 2013, 7:30 pm
Singapore Art Museum
71 Bras Basah Road, Singapore
Monday - Sunday 10am - 7pm
Last admission to the museum is at 6.15pm
Friday 10am - 9pm
Enjoy complimentary entry on Friday evenings from 6pm - 9pm
Adults $10
Foreign Students and senior citizens aged 60 and above (free for children under six) $5