An exhibition highlighting contemporary artists as storytellers focuses on the long tradition of paper manipulation.

Singapore Art Museum’s Superfluous Things: Paper exhibition is being held at its recently launched space, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore, in Gallery 2 and The Engine Room. From a distance, people would not expect the presence of an art gallery as its location is primarily filled by industrial buildings.

Five artists are the focus of the show; Jumaadi, Li Hongbo, Nabilah Said, PHUNK & Keiichi Tanaami and Cheryl Teo, which is curated by Lim Chye Hong, head of Education, Access and Programmes at SAM. 

Lim explained that paper had ambiguous qualities. Though a simple, everyday object, through the hands of the artists involved, paper is transformed into something of astounding beauty and creativity. 

“The original idea for this exhibition was also to see from a point of view how we can make contemporary arts accessible as well. So, we want the audience to develop that curiosity for contemporary art and to lower the barrier [of] entry to some extent,” Lim told The Jakarta Post.

“We never thought that when it comes to paper it [could have] so much quality in it. And sometimes the material could lead the artists in a certain way. Some work [with the medium] in a more traditional way, and some with a more contemporary style,” Lim said. 

As the COVID-19 pandemic subsides in Singapore, Lim is hopeful that this time around with the ease of border restrictions, along with Singapore’s community measures, visitors can enjoy the venue’s ambiance while exploring their curiosity at Superfluous Things: Paper. 

Giving back to nature 

Indonesian multidimensional artist Jumaadi has a long history of creating paper pieces. He finds them adaptable to many situations.

“Paper can come with me in my bag; it can adapt to [any] place so it’s like having a portable studio,” Jumaadi, who is currently based in Sydney, Australia, said.

Jumaadi’s works have been featured at the 14^th Jakarta Biennale in 2011, the fifth Moscow Biennale in 2016, the 13^th Gwangju Biennale in 2021 and the 10^th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art — the latter was held at Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art in Queensland, Australia, from December 2021 to April 2022.

For Superfluous Things: Paper, Jumaadi’s art is imbued with poetic sensibility. He explores and incorporates his own personal experience, including the feeling of loneliness, displacement and isolation. 

His piece titled Joli Jolan (derived from the Javanese term ijol ijolan which means “to swap” or “replace”) shows a glimpse of his grand private cosmology. The piece is focused on humans exploiting the environment and other humans as well.

In his view, it also reflects upon the way people live their lives, like how humans cut down trees in the forests, causing natural disasters such as floods. 

“I’m aware that my audience comes from different geographical and cultural backgrounds, therefore I want to share my stories,” Jumaadi said.

Commenting on Jumaadi’s work, Lim described the artist’s creation as simple yet having an eerie and mysterious story behind it. 

Joli Jolan features a seemingly autobiographical figure carrying enormous objects ranging from a pineapple, fishbone and human foot, to miniature mountains and buildings sprouting foliage. The piece also includes a buffalo, the tree of life, a rootless tree, tree-less roots and other organic patterns, where the natural and spiritual worlds converge. 

Every figure has a different meaning. For instance, a hilltop represents the exploitation of humans by humans, while other hilltops in the artwork represent the human exploitation of flora (forests) and of animals, including chicken farms and the live cattle trade, as Jumaadi explained. 

The piece is also influenced by the carving style of wayang kulit (shadow puppet), where Jumaadi shares the Javanese elements of his artist identity. 

“I believe the most important ingredients of art are blood and sweat, emotions and memory. [Those are] the ingredients of art that have dictated my practice,” he said.

Other artwork featured

Another piece that might capture visitors’ attention is Eccentric City, created by Japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami in collaboration with PHUNK, a Singapore art and design collective. 

The piece features an imaginary floating city that is constructed out of Japanese tatebanko (paper dioramas), a traditional Japanese craft that was popular in the late Edo period (1603–1867) and the Meiji period (1868–1912). 

Eccentric City features a monochromatic carnivalesque theme-park universe by PHUNK, contrasting with Tanaami’s vibrant-colored psychedelic dreamscapes on the other, portraying the pulsating energy of urban living.

The exhibition also displays a piece by Chinese artist Li Hongbo titled Land of Fairy Tales, which took six years of work. Just like its name, the large-scale installation is made up of colorful, malleable paper. Li meticulously glued every piece together in a honeycomb-like structure by hand. 

The piece also reflects the geopolitics of borders and boundaries as active forces and resources in international and domestic political, social and economic relations. 

Some pieces are more relatable to daily life, like Just a Little at a Time by Cheryl Teo. The installation features 80 tiny artworks by the Singaporean artist. During the installation day, Cheryl meticulously put all the miniature shophouses and daily things that people can find in their everyday life one by one. For every piece, Cheryl crafted it over five to six hours.

Each piece currently displayed at the gallery has its own charm and comes together to create an immersive yet different experience for visitors. Some pieces are mixed with technology like Li Hongbo’s 3D printing, which gives the edge to the use of paper, while Jumaadi’s and Cheryl’s works showcase the meticulousness and need for patience to cut and create each piece and assemble them. 

Lim is hopeful that viewers can enjoy the different pieces together and appreciate paper and its role in today’s world as a carrier of ideas. 

Superfluous Things: Paper runs from May 28 to August 14, 2022 at Gallery 2 and The Engine Room, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore.

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