“If you get your hands dirty and dig around the fallen trunk you can discover string upon strings of mycelium reaching deep into the ground. Not unlike the internet and the neural-network of your own embodiment that allows you to hear this”

- Nina Djekić, from X Steps Through A Forest

If Forests Talks is an online programme that looks at the tropical rainforest through the lens of artists. Nature, greenery and rainforests within Singapore are often seen through logics rooted in extraction - for botanical, recreational and consumptive purposes. The project seeks to paint the tropical rainforests in a different light, through a series of new works that draws lineage to the artists’ existing artworks, wherein the tropical rainforest had featured prominently. Might the pandemic reframe the forest, before and after?

Through the form of videos and audio pieces, the artists themselves revisit their past works to engage with the other-than-human domains of the rainforests, which re-emerges as the site for tradition, futurity, temporary communities and choreography.

Works are online from 21 January until 28 February 2021.

If Forests Talk is part of Singapore Art Week 2021 and is supported by the National Arts Council, Singapore.

About Singapore Art Week

Singapore Art Week (SAW), the pinnacle of Singapore’s visual arts scene, returns in its 9th edition from 22 to 30 January 2021. Singapore’s signature visual arts season will celebrate the coming together of our vibrant artist community in unprecedented times as we simultaneously navigate new modes of artmaking, presentation and look forward to new possibilities for the future. Keeping to the theme of “Art Takes Over”, SAW 2021 will present over 100 arts events across both physical and digital spaces, featuring new works, transnational collaborations and virtual art experiences. Offering a diverse range of works from our arts and cultural institutions, private galleries, non-profit arts organisations, independent artists and curators, audiences can enjoy SAW 2021 through physical presentations complemented by digital programmes accessible from the comfort of their homes.

SAW continues to be a spotlight, gathering and launchpad for the arts community in Singapore, in line with the larger #SGCultureAnywhere campaign, sounding a call towards the creation of new networks, shared knowledge and connectivity both locally and regionally.

SAW 2021, a celebration of Singapore’s vibrant art landscape, is a joint initiative by the National Arts Council (NAC), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

New Works

Past Works

Curator's Notes

Events

Calendar