SAM: Singapore Art Museum

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20131117_153120The Culture

SAM’s installations change regularly. Singapore is currently hosting its fourth Biennial, a South East Asian contemporary art exhibition, the theme of which is If the World Changed. SAM had some thought- provoking exhibits around this theme.

A traditional Melaccan boat was filled with a thousand bottles, each with a message on the outside. The messages were written by male inmates of Singapore’s prison about their hopes for their time in prison and on their release. It was particularly interesting to see an exhibit giving a voice to prisoners in a country that is known for having severe penalties for breaking the law. I could not help wondering how far messages had been selected on the basis of handwriting, though, as all the messages that were visible were written by prisoners with beautiful handwriting!

In one room visitors were asked to write on post-its their answers to the question “If the world changed…” (although I am not entirely sure that is really a question…). I love anything that gives visitors a chance to write their opinions down as part of a display.

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Another exhibition, not part of the If the World Changed installations, gave no titles to artwork in a room. Instead, there were slips of paper on which visitors could write suggestions for a title and slip it into one of several slots placed next to the artworks for the purpose. I was not particularly moved by any of the actual artworks in the room, but really enjoyed the concept. You never really know what you would have thought of a piece of art, or indeed a museum exhibit, if you did not have the preconceptions presented to you in the title. I have heard that the National Museum of Australia chooses not to label exhibits at all, which is perhaps taking this idea too far – I do think titles and labels generally help visitors get more out of the experience of visiting a museum or gallery. However, the installation at SAM was a great way to get visitors to engage with the artworks and work out what the artworks meant to them personally.

SAM also housed one of the most disturbing exhibits I had ever seen in a museum. In a darkened room, hundreds of dolls’ heads had been placed on sticks. Visitors followed a path through the dolls’ heads to reach a shed which had hundreds more (entire) dolls hung up. The dolls had all been thrown away and were taken from a landfill site in the Philippines. One entrance to the exhibit warned that the content could be disturbing, but I think we had the misfortune to wander in through another entrance, so missed the warning!

The Coffee

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A branch of the lovely coffee shop Dôme is available to offer refreshment to visitors to SAM. Dôme offers western-style coffees, light meals, juices and smoothies and delicious cakes. I chose a “long macchiato”. I am not entirely sure how it would differ from a latte, which was also available. The coffee was excellent and came in an elegant glass with a pretty holder.

To accompany the coffee, I had half a slice of New York baked cheesecake. I was a little worried about choosing a cake that depended so much on good quality dairy products, but I was not disappointed. The baked cheesecake consistency, which can be difficult to get right, was very good (although to split hairs, it could have been everso slightly moister!). It had a pleasantly lemony undertone and I enjoyed the crunch of the flaked almonds around the cake’s circumference.

The Company

My boyfriend accompanied me on my visit to SAM and Dôme. He had the other half of the baked cheesecake at Dôme, washed down with an iced cappuccino.

Visitor’s View

I have mixed views on modern art in general, sometimes feeling that artists have not put enough thought into conveying meaning through their work. However, much of the artwork I viewed at SAM was thoughtful and thought-provoking. Of course, I have only written about installations and exhibits I was particularly impressed by – some exhibits seemed, to me at least, far less interesting.

The museum has a great space with different galleries, walkways and wings. I liked the way visitors were taken through exhibits – lots of exhibits were behind curtains to create a sense of anticipation and allow for different lighting levels and sometimes visitors passed through multiple curtains and exhibits (which, incidentally, was how we ended up in a roomful of severed dolls’ heads without warning!).

SAM could be completely different in a few months’ time, as installations change regularly. However, I suspect that this feature was part of the reason all the exhibits felt fresh and relevant and that visitors would be likely to have an equally engaging experience whenever they visited.

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The Singapore Art Museum, 71 Bras Basah Rd, Singapore 189555, visited on 17 November 2013. Admission is SG$10 for adults, SG$5 for foreign students and senior citizens, which includes admission to the museum’s annex, SAM at 8Q, on the same day. A SG$10 ticket granting admission to the Singapore Art Museum, the Singapore National Museum and the Peranakan Museum, valid for one visit to each, to be used before 16 February, is available until 16 February.

The Peranakan Museum, Singapore

Singapore

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The Culture

The Peranakan museum’s galleries span three floors: the first floor gallery  describes the Origins of the Peranakan culture; the second floor focuses on Peranakan weddings; and the third floor explores language and fashion, religion, public life and food and feasting.

Gallery 1, Origins

I particularly liked the Origins gallery. Large portraits of Peranakans of all ages were displayed along the walls, with a short quote from each of them about what it meant to be Peranakan. Every single person was smiling, proud to be sharing their thoughts on their culture; it was a truly uplifting beginning to the journey around the museum. Generally people felt their Peranakan identity expressed itself in food, language and looks, but many Peranakans also expressed a shared sense of identity with other cultures, such as Singaporean and Indian cultures, and seemed to feel it was a privilege to belong to both worlds.

A short video explains that the Peranakan culture had its origins in trading along the Silk Road. Foreign traders settled in port cities in the 15th and 16th centuries, marrying local women and bringing up children who adopted a rich blend of cultural traditions.

Galleries 2-5, Weddings

The Wedding galleries displayed some of the exquisite objects used in Peranakan wedding ceremonies. Traditionally, weddings lasted twelve days.

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Brides would wear spectacular wedding jewellery, such as this headdress and belt. Less wealthy families would rent wedding jewellery from wealthier families.

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The marital bed. This was associated with rituals such as having a young male relative roll across the bed  to spread male energy, which was thought to promote fertility and increase the chances of the first child being a boy. In another ritual, the groom’s female relatives having the right to inspect a handkerchief that had been spread across the bed on the twelfth day of the wedding, when the marriage was consummated. The groom’s family had the right to reject the bride if they were not satisfied. If the bride was accepted, everyone ate coconut rice!

Gallery 6, Language and Fashion

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A clever interactive exhibit on Peranakan language – lifting the receiver allowed you to hear a recording of a conversation.

Gallery 7, Religion

Peranakan religion embraces a mixture of beliefs such as Taoism, Buddhism and ancestor worship.

Gallery 9, Food and Feasting

Food is a central part of Peranakan culture. It includes Chinese, Thai, Malay, Indonesian and European elements. Cook books are available in the museum shop and Singapore’s Peranakan restaurant, Blue Ginger, also allows for the opportunity to try Peranakan food.

The gallery included a reconstruction of a pre-second world war kitchen. The kitchen was an important space, where children were looked after, chores such as ironing were done and meals were prepared. It was therefore a female domain, where women entertained close female friends and relatives. The kitchen hosts a “special video” every hour, but unfortunately I did not visit at the right time to see it.

The Coffee

The Peranakan Museum’s shop houses a small café, True Blue Pantry, where visitors are served refreshments by a gentleman in traditional Peranakan costume. I opted for the floral set for SG$5+, which included rose or jasmine tea and floral biscuits. I am a big fan of tea with rosebuds, so I chose rose tea. A posh teabag with rosebuds inside was used to brew the tea in the mug. The flavour could have been stronger – even after a good few minutes’ brewing it still tasted a little watery, but it was certainly a pleasantly floral, refreshing drink. The biscuits turned out to be rich and buttery, a pleasant surprise in a country that is not always comfortable with dairy products.

The Company

I visited the museum and café alone. My company in the café was Miranda Dickinson’s It Started with a Kiss, a book featuring blogging as part of the plot, which may have subconsciously influenced me when the idea for this blog came to me (some other great books featuring blogging: Leftovers by Stella Newman and I Heart New York by Lindsey Kelk).

Visitor’s View

The Peranakan Museum’s layout works very well, with the introductory gallery on the first floor, the Weddings galleries on the second floor and further details around Peranakan culture on the third floor.  The complex set of rituals around Peranakan weddings is fascinating. The galleries on the second floor did a great job of unfolding the story of different traditions on different days of the twelve day wedding ceremony, combining beautiful objects with focused text.

The Modern Wedding video, in Gallery 2, Weddings, gave an interesting insight into how Peranakan traditions have translated into life today. The video consisted of a few different couples speaking about their experiences of being  together and how Peranakan culture and traditions influenced them. One couple explained that their parents expected them to keep some traditional Peranakan elements in their wedding ceremony, for example the rolling of the young male relative on the bed. Peranakans seemed to be adapting their traditions while maintaining their unique identity.

The Peranakan Museum, 39 Armenian Street, Singapore 179941, visited on 10 November 2013. Admission is free for Singaporean citizens and permanent residents, SG$6 for non-Singaporean/ non-PR adults. A SG$10 ticket granting admission to the Peranakan Museum, the Singapore Art Museum and the Singapore National Museum, valid for one visit to each, to be used before 16 February, is available until 16 February.