National Gallery Singapore's 'See Me, See You' explores early Southeast Asian video art

National Gallery Singapore, a leading public gallery and museum in Singapore, is exhibiting See Me, See You: Early Video Installation of Southeast Asia from May 05, 2023, to February 04, 2024. The video art exhibition is split into two parts, with the first instalment ending on September 17, 2023, and the second opening on October 13, 2023. See Me, See You is co-curated by curator Clarissa Chikiamco and assistant curator Cheng Jia Yun, who are presenting works by Apinan Poshyananda, Baharudin Mohd Arus, Chng Nai Wee, Johnny Manahan, and Jean Marie Syjuco in the exhibition’s first instalment. The second shall feature works by Heri Dono, Hasnul Saidon, Ray Langenbach, Vincent Leow, and Krisna Murti.

Jia Yun discusses the curatorial strategy of the art exhibition, telling STIR, “We have curated this exhibition to explore the early adoption of video during the 1980s and mid-1990s, and to bridge the gap in regional art histories. Our focus was to look at the earliest examples of video incorporation within art when video was still unwieldy and not yet fully and cheaply available to the average consumer.” Chikiamco adds to this, explaining that the duo’s curatorial lens aimed to represent the diversity in approach that artists within the region held towards the articulation of video technology, without forcing them into any rigid thematic bounds. Both conceptual and practical aspects such as the feasibility of recreating each video installation in its original form were considered, as well as the need to create a holistic representation of art from nations across the region.

Journeying back in time through the gallery’s offering, one wonders how the works on display were received in the 80s and 90s when they first met the world, and whether audiences originally found their respective creators’ practices to be somewhat challenging to engage with, given that there was little precedent within the region for what they were producing. Jia Yun explains that this was certainly the case and that the general public within the region, along with art critics, were divided on whether or not they should consider many of the works exhibited in See Me, See You as ‘art’ at all, not only for their incorporation of video as a medium but also due to the fact that they utilised everyday materials as components within their installations.

A perfect example of this uncertainty of approach can be found in Singaporean video artist Chng Nai Wee's Sin of Apathy, which has been included in the first instalment of See Me, See You. The video installation, that uses multiple television screens to challenge what Wee saw as Singaporean society’s apathy towards human suffering, was originally treated as a sculpture, going so far as to be accepted into the National Sculpture Exhibition of Singapore. While this may be a perplexing fact for today’s audiences to wrap their heads around, Jia Yun points out that its acceptance indicates a re-evaluation and expansion of the broader definition of sculpture art in Singapore.

In the second instalment of See Me, See You, audiences will engage with Dream World by Vincent Leow, which saw the artist recording and re-recording material onto VHS tapes, in order to intentionally add more texture into his final output. Interestingly, Leow linked this process to painting, with the screen taking up the role of a canvas of sorts.

However, in sharp contrast to public and critic perceptions, artists themselves were quite optimistic about the possibilities that video, and especially household television sets brought to the table, as tools of creative dissemination. In Chikiamco’s words, “The use of video, and therefore also television, was considered quite provocative at that time. For one, television was a domestic object and what was broadcasted was often under state control or capitalist interests such as advertisements. To provide alternative content through video, to claim these works as being art, and finally to put them in a gallery space challenged the prevailing artistic norms in the region.”

As Jia Yun explains, it is essential to acknowledge that Southeast Asian artists of the 80s and 90s saw video as a powerful tool for political expression and social commentary. Not only did it provide a platform for alternative content circulation, but it also offered artists a means to document and bear witness to critical political events. She says, “Through their works, they captured moments of protests, political gatherings, and human rights struggles, preserving them for posterity. These video artworks provided a way for artists to bypass censorship and directly engage with the public, leaving a lasting impact on the region's art scene and society.”

In her view, the lasting legacy of these artists continues to inspire contemporary practitioners to use their creativity as a force for positive change and social transformation. With that in mind, may audiences view See Me, See You as a marker of a critically important moment in Southeast Asian art practices, and may the captivating works on display remain within their subconscious long after they leave the exhibition hall of the art gallery.