Group exhibition in Singapore
Singapore, September 2017—-The visual art collective instinctive presents instinctive
2.0: (in)significant. The exhibition brings together 13 artists from both Singapore and abroad of
diverse practices and working across various mediums to explore the oft-overlooked aspect of
size and scale.
instinctive 2.0: (in)significant will be held from 20th to 22nd October 2017 and is the first of
two exhibitions in which the artists of instinctive come together to examine the scale of an
artwork in relation to art-making and the viewers’ encounter of it. instinctive 2.0: (in)significant
will feature works no smaller than A4 (210 x 297 mm) and no larger than A2 (420 x 594 mm),
while the follow-up 2018 exhibition instinctive 2.1: (in)significant will mainly showcase works of
larger size and scale.
In this first exhibition, the artists overturn conventional practices—the small work cannot
always be relegated as just a draft or a sketch, as just preparatory work for something larger
down the line. The artists turn to questioning our assumptions about works that are small in
scale—do we value it less because we correlate anything small with triviality, and as of less
importance and insignificance? And so, the artists test and examine these existing
preconceptions—can monumentality and grandness ever be encapsulated in the small and the
intimate? These explorations also impinge on the process of art-making—the small size limits
and constraints gestural expressions while setting a challenge for the artists to maintain concise
control. (in)significant as a subject is also explored topically—looking at the mundane, the
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everyday, the overlooked, and the quotidian which are often deemed insignificant but is actually
meaningful. Or of the personal and the individual as small and insignificant compared to the
socio-political mechanisation of society. In both strands of works, the size and scale of the
subject can be distorted or manipulated, enlarged or reduced—tricking us into believing the
significance or insignificance of things based on how large or small it is.
Natalia Ludmila, LOL Girl (CCTV Evident), 2017,
watercolour on somerset paper, 38 x 56 cm
In light of this being an exhibition organised by an artist collective, the title (in)significant
also alludes to the strength, energy and potency when a group of individuals act as a cohesive
collective. Under instinctive, these individuals can carve a space for themselves to exhibit and
platform new works, and to make an impact on the art scene—that is, to be rendered significant
through collective action. In this sense, there is a clear connection between the present
exhibition and the previous exhibition from February 2017 titled instinctive 1.0: (in)visible, which
explores ideas related to the invisible and the hidden. The subject of visibility and invisibility also
relates to the collective’s capacity and capability to make its individual members more visible
through efforts in collaboration, exhibition and public engagement.
A Singapore-based artist collective, instinctive consists of artist-members from across the
globe. It was first formed in 2016 with artists coming together in the tenets of collaboration,
cultural exchange and friendship. Temporal in nature, instinctive renews itself on a yearly basis.
The 2017/2018 iteration of instinctive include artists Alba Escayo (Spain), Chang Hui Fang
(Taiwan), Claire Deniau (France), Deusa Blumke (Brazil), Justin Lee (Singapore), Kim Kei (USA), Lisa
Chandler (New Zealand), Martha Chaudhry (USA), Natalia Ludmila (Mexico), Paul Campbell (USA),
Shin-young Park (New Zealand), Urich Lau (Singapore) and Yeo Shih Yun (Singapore).
Location
INSTINC SOHO
soho2@central #04-163
12 Eu Tong Sen Street
S (059819)
