Born 1974, Singapore
 

Solo Exhibitions
1996 "IT WORKS LIKE MAGIC",
Utopia Gallery, Singapore

Group Exhibitions
1998 "A COMMON WEALTH OF ART :
TRADITIONS, IMAGINATION & INDEPENDENT NATIONS",
National Art Gallery,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

"THE DRAWING SHOW",
Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore

"500 & BELOW",
Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore

"LOVELETTER",
Alliance FranŤaise de Singapour, Singapore

"AN ARTS EXPERIENCE",
UE Square Shopping Mall, Singapore

"PROJECT FOUR",
Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore

"GROUP EXHIBITION",
Plastique Kinetic Worms, Singapore
1997 ÔSINGAPORE ART 97",
Singapore International Convention & Ex tion Centre, Singapore

"JEWELS OF ASIA, THE ASIA ART FAIR",
Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, Singapore

"ART EXPO 97",
World Trade Centre, Singapore
1996 "MOON & STAR SHOW",
Utopia Gallery, Singapore

"EXPRESSIONS",
Millennia Walk, Singapore

"BEGINNINGS É 3D WORK",
LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore

"TOUR DE ART LAH",
Singapore Festival of Arts, Festival Fringe, Singapore

"RELIC Ń 17TH FINE ARTS DIPLOMA SHOW",
Earl Lu Gallery, Sin pore

"$300 SHOW",
Utopia Gallery, Singapore

"LOVE PROJECT I & II",
Performance at LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
1995 "WETTERLING TEO RMIT SCHOLARSHIP FINALIST EX TION",
Wetterling Teo Gallery, Singapore

"THE GREAT SINGAPORE KITSCH SHOW",
LASALLE-SIA Col lege of the Arts, Singapore
1994 "TRANS TIONS",
DADA Restaurant, Boat Quay, Singapore

"EXPERIENCE THE HAPPENINGS",
Performance at LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore

"WORKS ON PAPER",
LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore

"SCULPTURE EXHIBITION",
LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?",
Photo Exhibition, Marina Square, Sin pore
1983 "SINGAPORE YOUTH FESTIVAL OF ART & CRAFTS EX TION",
National Museum, Singapore

Education
1996 Graduated from LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts

Awards
1997 "SINGAPORE URBAN ART COMPETITION 1997"
Letter of Commendation
1996 "PARCO FLOWER SCULPTURE ARRANGEMENT COMPETITION"
Certificate of Best Design
1996 "SINGAPORE YOUTH FESTIVAL OF THE ART & CRAFTS EXHIBITION"
 

AN EXHIBITION ON ART • FILM • THE CITY
@JENDELA, ESPLANADE
22 Apr-18 May 2003

Cinepolitans: Inhabitants of a Filmic City brings into focus 3 powerful influences, catalysts and references in contemporary life – Art, Film and the City. This exhibition from 22 April to 18 May 2003 will be launched at one of the most unusual and challenging gallery spaces in Singapore: Jendela at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay.

The exhibition features 7 Singapore artists who have been making critical impressions with their probing art practices. Curated by Michael Lee Hong Hwee and Tang Ling Nah, who are noted for their artistic practices dealing with film and urban space respectively, the exhibition showcases various media, including contemporary drawing, painting, photography, video, and installation.

Examine the impact and influence of film in a new light at Cinepolitans: Inhabitants of a Filmic City through photographs by Chua Chye Teck; Han Kiang Siew’s paper and video installation; video images from a camera thrown off a building by Ho Tzu Nyen; a painting of a cinema’s interior by Hong Sek Chern; John Low’s installation of photographs, videoclips and soundbites, Royston Tan’s short film and Tang Ling Nah’s charcoal drawings.

Venue
Jendela, Esplanade Mall Level 2

Gallery Hours
Tue – Fri: 11am to 8.30pm, Sat – Sun: 10am to 8.30pm, Closed on Mon

Dates
The exhibition opens Tue 22 Apr 2003, 6.30pm, and continues until Sun, 18 Apr 2003

Admission
Free

Issued by The Esplanade Co Ltd.



CURATORIAL STATEMENT
All media extracts from the texts below should be credited to curator Michael Lee Hong Hwee:

‘Film and city are related in diverse ways, but neither cinema nor urban studies has paid warranted attention to their connections. Likewise, visual arts practice has not consistently or extensively considered the links between film and the city – particularly not in the context of the city-State of Singapore.

The melding of ‘cine’ (a prefix from ‘cinema’) and ‘politans’ (a suffix roughly translated as ‘citizens’) to yield the exhibition’s main title ‘Cinepolitans’ is a strategic move to open up grounds for visual artists to investigate the myriad plausible connections between cinematic and urban conditions. The premise of this exhibition is that although we are subjects of film and the city, in other words, we are cinepolitans in one way or another, we engage with the two subjects not merely, and even less necessarily, through film or urban studies, but possibly in numerous practical as well as artistic ways – visually, literarily, performatively or through a blend of methods. With film and city each having its own discourses, histories, theories and methodologies, their fusion offers an array of possible permutations for exploration.

Cinepolitans is the first art event ever to consider the links between film and city in the context of Singapore. It aims to suggest a space for differences between film and city to slip, and for analogies between them to arise. The title also refers to the pool of participating artists in the exhibition, showcasing their works derived from their particular aesthetic engagements with city and film – in other words, sharing their experiences of being inhabitants of a filmic city like Singapore….

The conception of ‘Cinepolitans’ generates a range of complex and valuable insights into both film and the city. A film and a city exist beyond the respective confines of the cinema and the urban environment. A filmic city occupies the imagination of every urban dweller, not just artists alone. It is hoped that this exhibition provides a trigger to explore further relationships between our physical surrounding and our favourite pastime within it.’

The hero could be the saviour of the day in suicidal cases like this; he is the quintessential figure who appears at the scene when things get out of hand. He is also the film character whom Chua Chye Teck finds most intriguing. However, instead of depicting the film hero in or preparing for action, be it saving a damsel in distress or avenging injustices inflicted on his community, the artist has placed him alone in spartan environments. Through his particular brand of poetic photography, the artist explores the inner psychological worlds of the action hero beneath his muscular physique, mask and leotard outfit, asking if he might sometimes also feel lonely, fearful or vulnerable?

BIOGRAPHIES
All media extracts from the texts below should be credited to curator Michael Lee Hong Hwee:


THE ARTISTS

Chua Chye Teck graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Fine Art) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, majoring in sculpture. He is also trained professionally in photography. He has participated in numerous exhibitions, showcasing works in a diversity of media – sculptures, photographs, installations, performances, paintings and drawings. In 2002, he was selected to represent Singapore in Asian Comments at the City Centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. He also participated in Open 2000, the 3rd International Exhibition of Sculptures and Installations in Italy. His work won The Best Design in the 1996 Parco Flower Sculpture Arrangement Competition.