Matthew Ngui: Points of View
National Museum of Singapore
28 May - 29 June 2008
Matthew Ngui, one of Singapore’s most prominent contemporary visual artists, brings a life-sized cross section view of an Olympic pool right into the National Museum’s gallery. In this presentation of Matthew Ngui: Points of View, 10 of Ngui’s most important works are brought together in a major solo exhibition. With this survey exhibition of key installations and video works alongside specially commissioned pieces, Singaporeans get an overview of the breadth and significance of two decades of his artistic practice.
Organised by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, Australia, Matthew Ngui: Points of View is probably the first major touring exhibition of a Singaporean artist organised by an overseas museum. It was shown at MCA from June to August 2007 and at the John Curtin Gallery in Perth from February to March 2008.
"We are proud to champion the work of one of Singapore’s major artists through this collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney. We have commissioned Matthew for one of our permanent art installation in the Museum. His work often makes us think about how culture is represented and this is a rich area of exploration that the National Museum is intrigued with," says Lee Chor Lin, Director, National Museum of Singapore.
Matthew Ngui’s work questions the validity of fixed or singular meanings and truths through a signature use of anamorphosis (a fragmented image coming together at a single point). The playful, interactive environments he creates toy with perception and perspective, embracing the shifting point of view as a way of interrogating meaning and identity. Visitors to the museum will get to view seminal installations including works such as Chair (2007), in which what seems an ordinary piece of furniture breaks and scatters, or forms back into a whole depending on the angle it is viewed from.
Matthew Ngui says of the show, "We had to re-look at the whole idea of a retrospective or a survey, and do a little of both. We’ve decided to look at the context in which the previous works have been developed and worked through, but also at the same time to make new works that will cover, in a sense, new ground or make little experiments for larger projects for the future."
Curator: Russell Storer
NMS - NATIONAL MUSEUM OF SINGAPORE
93 Stamford Road, Singapore 178897
www.nationalmuseum.sg
