Miss Joaquim #2 (BCSG 2017 Travelling Doll) - National Gallery Singapore

Miss Joaquim (the BCSG 2017 travel doll) recently paid a visit to the National Gallery Singapore - Singapore's most recent art gallery.

Miss Joaquim at the National Gallery Singapore (Old Supreme Court Building).

The Gallery is housed in Singapore's former City Hall and the Old Supreme Court Building. These two heritage buildings have witnessed significant events in Singapore's history from her days as a British colony to her full independence as a sovereign city-state.

The City Hall building was the location of several significant historical events in Singapore including Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten's acceptance of the Japanese surrender in 1945 (which marked the end of WWII in Singapore); the declaration of independence from the British Empire in 1959; the declaration of independence from the Federation of Malaysia in 1965; and the swearing in of Singapore's first Prime Minister. Among other events...

The Old Supreme Court Building was the former courthouse of the Supreme Court of Singapore. This was the case until 2005 when all operations and functions moved to the new Supreme Court building (nicknamed the UFO because of the disc-shaped roof dome).

Naturally, the Old Supreme Court Building has also witnessed many milestones in Singapore's judicial history, such as the appointment of Singapore's first non-British Chief Justice; the abolition of appeals to the Privy Council in 1994 (which, until then, was Singapore's final appellate court); and many significant cases which have shaped Singapore's jurisprudence.

The Old Supreme Court Building, Singapore

The design for the Old Supreme Court was supposedly inspired by the Old Bailey in London. My favourite facade of the two is, of course, the Old Supreme Court - I love the symmetry of triangular tympanum, the Ionic and Corinthian columns and central dome. Apparently, buried under the foundation stone are a time capsule (to be retrieved in the year 3000) and some Straits Settlement coins!

The joining of the two neoclassical buildings is something of an architectural miracle, in my humble view. The two buildings are joined by a modern roof structure of glass and steel, designed to incorporate natural light into the building. Somehow it manages to blend into the existing classical architecture without being jarring or aesthetically displeasing.

Old and new at the National Gallery of Singapore

Also, these days, no urban building project in Singapore is without some form of skyrise greenery. Two 5-m tall vertical gardens at the Old Supreme Court Building were integrated with the 3,000 sq m rooftop garden at the City Hall building.

The rooftop garden (Ng Teng Fong Roof Garden) doubles as an exhibition space and, as at 4 November 2017, contains sculptures by Vietnamese artist Danh Vo.

Unfortunately, Miss Joaquim couldn't go to the rooftop garden because it was raining cats and dogs. She was supremely disappointed because she didn't get much air-time outside the Gallery to begin with. We only managed a few shots before the dark rain clouds rolled in.

For the wet weather plan, Miss Joaquim and I went to see the Artist and Empire: (En)countering Colonial Legacies exhibition at the SingTel Special Exhibition Gallery. We had planned to also view the Law of the Land exhibition, but we ran out of time to catch it.

Rainy weather!

The Artist and Empire exhibition starts with an 1817 portrait of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. All Singaporeans who read Social Studies in primary/secondary school have seen this portrait. (This means pretty much every Singaporean since the 1980s. Whether they remember it is another issue.)

All Singaporeans know that Raffles arrived in Singapore in 1819, that he was a British Colonial official and the founder of modern Singapore. His legacy has remained in Singapore, in statues, schools, roads and buildings.

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles (1817),
Mr. George Francis Joseph

Most of what I remember from Social Studies tended to paint a glaringly positive picture of Raffles and his founding of modern Singapore. However, as years passed and my reading went further and wider, it became quite clear that his founding of a settlement in Singapore was not quite politically problem-free. Neither was Raffles' much-exalted reputation controversy-free, according to Tim Hannigan's book Raffles and the British Invasion of Java.

So, maybe it is apt that the exhibition begins with his portrait. After all, according to various expositions by the National Gallery Singapore: "...the...exhibition explores the different ways in which the British Empire has been represented and contested through art. ... [and] also takes a close look at the relationship between colonial experience and the rise of modern art in former colonies such as Singapore, with a special focus on Sir Stamford Raffles. ... ... [The exhibition] invites visitors to consider art of the British Empire from alternate viewpoints - those of its former colonies and artists today."

Even the innocuous natural history drawings do not escape the revisionist perspective being cast on the British Empire's presence in the Asia-Pacific!

Botanical illustrations of tropical flora and fauna

Natural history drawings (especially botanical drawings) have always been among my favourites. The botanical drawings I first saw and fell in love with (at first sight!) were those formerly in the collection of William Farquhar, now on permanent display in the National Museum.

More natural history drawings at Gallery 2 of the Artist and Empire exhibition.

So, what is this sinister innuendo behind these seemingly innocent, and very beautiful, natural history drawings? What revisionist analysis can we cast on them?

Elephant Yam, Shaikh Zayn-al-din

During the British Empire, natural history drawings were commissioned for scientific study. Many specimens of flora and fauna were also collected and sent to Britain for study.

Through these studies, the British were able to classify, "know" and then exploit the commercial potential of the natural resources in their colonies. The best examples of this are rubber and tin from Malaya, which became important cash crops for the British Empire.

The British colonial presence had an immense impact on the indigenous landscape. Native forests were cleared to extract valuable timber and to create plantations for cash crops.

Regarding the exploitation of cash crops in the colonies, it is difficult to forget the role of the East India Company in the region during the time of the British Empire. The presence and growth of the British Empire in Asia was ever inter-connected with the East India Company, whose legacies in the Indian subcontinent, the forced cultivation of opium and the opium trade in the East leaves much to be desired.

Governor Arthur's Proclamation to
the Aborigines (1829-1830), unknown artist

Also, at the start of the exhibition, there was an old piece also caught my eye, as I found it very familiar.... Governor Arthur's Proclamation to the Aborigines (1829-1830) by an unknown artist, from the collection of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge.

I have definitely seen a print of this in some textbook somewhere... But I just cannot put my finger on it. I think it may have been during the Australian Art module I once took at university.

In any case, I think an exhibition seeking to critically examine the British Empire and its legacies in its colonies would never be complete without an examination of the arrival and settlement of Australia by the British. The legacy left behind by the British, in particular their dealings with the Aborigines, have a lasting impact on Australia's peoples. Although Australians generally prefer to focus on reconciliation, the British settlement of Australia by way of of terra nullius, and the legacies left behind from the Stolen Generation, remain controversial today.

One of the centre pieces of Gallery 1 is Andrew Gilbert's British Infantry Advance on Jerusalem, 4th of July, 1879 (2015, mixed media). The date, 4 July 1879, refers to destruction of the Zulu army at the Battle of Ulundi, and the end of the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Kingdom of Zulu. Gilbert's work is intended to invoke questions of what the Zulus would have done if they had emerged victorious.

Artist and Empire: (En)countering Colonial Legacies, National Gallery Singapore.

In the 1800s, Lord Carnavon sought to implement a system of confederation on the independent African states/tribes/kingdoms in Africa. (It has been discussed by historians that he believed that their presence posed a threat of an uprising against Britain, and thus sought to counter this by implementing confederation.) To further this plan, British colonial administrator Sir Henry Bartle Frere was sent to Southern Africa as British High Commissioner in 1877.

But on 11 December 1878, Frere presented to the Zulu king an ultimatum that was impossible to comply. This was done without the approval of the British government and was intended to instigate a war with the Zulu. When the Zulu king Cetshwayo did not comply with the ultimatum, Frere sent imperial troops (led by Lord Chelmsford) to annex the Kingdom of Zulu.

The Anglo-Zulu War is noted for several bloody battles. Before the Battle of Ulundi, the Zulu king Cetshwayo attempted to negotiate a peace treaty with the British but was refused. Apparently Lord Chelmsford wanted to 'save face' and salvage his reputation before his replacement by Lord Garnet Wolseley.

In the end, British the British emerged victorious and ended Zulu dominance in the region. But things did not end here. The confederation plan failed and when Lord Carnavon resigned in 1878, it was discarded. However, the conflicts in the south African region caused by his policy continued and eventually culminated in the First Anglo-Boer War.

And then there was Hew Locke's Edward Colston and Edmund Burke - photographs of two statues of the two statesmen in Bristol, draped in costume jewellery, glittery chains, shells, beads and coins. We are asked to consider why we look up to certain people and place them on a pedestal.

Edward Colston (left) and Edmund Burke (right) from Restoration (2006), Hew Locke

The juxtaposition of the two statesmen throws a critical light on that question. Edward Colston was a merchant and Member of Parliament much celebrated for his philanthropy in Bristol. However, he was also a slave trader whose wealth was from the slave trade. Given this, his continued celebration (via buildings, statues, streets, landmarks) has become controversial in recent times.

In contrast to him is Edmund Burke, the Irish statesman often associated with the abolition of slavery and known for his position on the American Revolution (he supported the American revolutionaries). Actually, it is not clear-cut that Burke was a supporter of the abolition of slavery. Some historians have pointed to his Sketch of the Negro Code, among others, as a suggestion that his position on the issue was either highly unsavoury or ambiguous at best.

Bristol itself is inter-connected with slave trading. In the 12th century, Bristol was already a significant trading port that included the trading of slaves. With the rise of Britain's colonies in America in the 17th century, merchants - such as Edward Colston - exploited Bristol's advantageous location. Located on Britain's west coast, ships in Bristol had the advantage in sailing to and from America. In the 18th century, Bristol became one of the centres of the Atlantic slave trade. At its peak, more than 2,000 slave ships carried a conservative estimate of 500,000 Africans to slavery in America. Read that again - at least five hundred thousand people. Even to today, many of Bristol's beautiful mansions, streets, buildings, landmarks have their roots in the slave trade. Colston most of all, it would seem.

On the topic of Bristol, the slave trade and names, I am reminded of a New York Times article I read some months ago, "I Named My Mixed-Race Daughter for a Slave-Trading Town" by Susan Fales-Hill. The writer named her daughter Bristol, only to later discover the city's slave trading past and the history of her own family - a New England gentleman who founded the family's shipping business which carried slaves.

Traditional paintings made during the British Empire are also critically questioned.

General Gordon's Last Stand (1893),
George William Joy

For example, in General Gordon's Last Stand, Gordon is immortalised as a hero who died defending Khartoum against Mahdist forces in the Siege of Khartoum.

Artist and Empire challenges this romantic depiction. Some historians have suggested that Gordon had defied government orders to evacuate Khartoum when it came under siege by the Mahdist forces, which sought to end the British and Egyptian presence in the Sudan. There are varying accounts of his end - ranging from being hacked to pieces, decapitated, speared to death.... The artist, who was an admirer of General Gordon, did not depict his defeat and humiliating end. But of General Gordon calmly looking down on his unruly attackers.

General Gordon's favoured an aggressive policy in the Sudan - one that was much in common with noted imperialists in his time.

Another highlight for us was the oil painting by Thomas John Barker of Queen Victoria and an African envoy. The focus of the painting is quite clear from the details in the clothes and jewellery worn by Queen Victoria and the African envoy, and the vague rendering of the ancillary characters. Of the ancillary characters, one of them is clearly Prince Albert (red jacket) and the one on the far right is probably the Prime Minister - just which one I don't know because most of the Prime Ministers in her time had side whiskers. If it was the 1860s (per the date of the painting), the British PM then was Henry John Temple. And possibly John Russell next to him, the British Foreign Secretary at the time.

The British Empire's power and dominance, and the purported superiority of the British, is symbolically represented by the bowing subservience of the tall, muscular African envoy to the delicate, petite Queen Victoria. (She was famously only 5 ft / 1.52m tall.) The colours of their skin is also sharply contrasted, and possibly refers to anthropological theories of that time.

'The Secret of England's Greatness' (Queen Victoria Presenting a Bible in the Audience Chamber at Windsor)" (c.1863), Thomas John Barker

According to the Gallery's exposition, the artist is referring to a popular story in the 1850s where an envoy for an African prince had asked Queen Victoria how Britain became so powerful in the world, and in answer, she handed him a bible. The painting celebrates the civilising role of the British monarchy and the Church, and the salvation they brought to people regarded as heathens. But in the colonies, the painting was mocked for masking the exploitative nature of Britain's empire-making efforts.

Studies by the British Empire of the peoples in foreign lands were driven by 19th century anthropological theories that argued that all societies could be arranged in an evolutionary order. These theories considered peoples who were physically different (e.g. Africans and the Aborigines) to be "primitive", but considered Europeans represented the height of human civilisation. These stereotypes were used to justify the "civilising" mission of colonial expansion, which marginalised the indigenous peoples in the colonies.

In view of this (and the tenure of the entire exhibition), it is with some irony that I now view the biblical verses on the painting's frame: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105, KJV) and "I love thy commandments above gold; yea above fine gold" (Psalm 119:127, KJV). Not intended by the artist, but inescapable given the alternative viewpoint(s) of the colonised. I think it also best sums up much of the discourse of colonialism - the competing viewpoints of history.

The final section of the exhibition considers the artistic legacies of local artists in the British colonies. As colonies moved towards independence in the immediate postwar years, art was a medium by which the peoples explored their colonial legacies, and searched for national identity and a sense of belonging.

There were several works by artists from Australia, Brunei, India, Malaya, Myanmar, and Singapore. For me, the highlights in this section would be the batik paintings by Chuah Thean Teng, and the watercolours by Abdullah Ariff.

Two Women and a Child (c.1955),
Chuah Thean Teng

During this transition, local artists took different approaches.

Some continued in the Western tradition with their use of European media (e.g. oils, watercolour) and styles (e.g. Impression, Realism). But they incorporated their own depictions of local peoples, landscapes, flora and fauna, myths and legends, and everyday objects - as a part of exploring national identity and belonging.

Other artists took inspiration from local heritage and adapted indigenous media or techniques and styles into their works.

So, Malayan artist Chuan Thean Teng is one such artist who adapted indigenous technique into art. Chuah was one of the earliest artists in Malaya who transformed the traditional technique of batik into a fine art medium. His batik paintings were regarded as emblematic of local identity - an increasing important concern with locals and colonial authorities in the immediate postwar years.

Traditional batik designs tend to be repeated patterns of flora and fauna. Instead, Chuah used the traditional batik dyeing process to create pictorial representations of people and Malayan life. It is said that Chuah often presented a romanticised view of Malayan life. This does appear to be so in his Two Women and a Child, where he depicts two demure Malay women, a healthy looking child, an abundance of fruit and a lush verdant background of tropical trees.

Rhapsody in Green (c.1955) (top) and After the Monsoon
Cloudburst (1955) (bottom), Abdullah Ariff

And then there is Abdullah Ariff who was active in the same period as Chuan Thean Teng, but who used European media, watercolours. But Ariff's watercolours depict humid tropical scenery in vibrant, heavy and lush colours - the opposite of the cool, pastel colours of the European scenery so often depicted in watercolour paintings.

It also seems to me like his watercolours have some resemblance with Chinese ink painting or perhaps some form of Abstract Expressionism. So there it is - Western media and influence, Chinese influence (maybe), but Southeast Asian scenery.

Miss Joaquim and I were left with some concluding thoughts:

"Artworks are not neutral documents, capable of presenting facts or objective reality. Rather, they are subjective expressions of creative individuals with mindsets and values of a specific time and place. Just as artists' worlds shape how they create art, their artworks, in turn, shape the way in which the world is perceived by others.

What do artworks reveal about ways of seeing, and systems of knowledge? More importantly, how do we avoid using convenient categories or classifications that will bind us from appreciating difference?"

From the view of someone who has imbibed too much postmodernist/deconstructionist/skeptical realist philosophies, I kind of arrived at this conclusion as a university student. So, this is why the general thrust of this exhibition resonated well with my thoughts. As for the concluding questions - I have my views on the first question. The second is a little harder.

Miss Joaquim got a little fed up with the philosophical bent of my thoughts. She kept telling me to return to Candyland fun with her.

I told her we could take a leisurely stroll along the Singapore River, as we head back towards the CBD. (Sorry, MJ, but the office and dinner await! I can't stay in Candyland forever, you know.)

Miss Joaquim enjoying the night-time view of the CBD.

On the way back, Miss Joaquim insisted on taking photos with the city skyline, all prettily lit up. Quite difficult, but we managed somehow!

We found a good spot where a street lamp cast some light on her face. And though I struggled to hold her and the camera up, at least neither fell into the Singapore River!

Night view of the CBD and Boat Quay from across the Singapore River.

Miss Joaquim asked me, "Among the skyscrapers in the CBD, which one is the most striking to you?"

Now that is a question...as there are several buildings that come to mind. But possibly the one that sticks to my mind most is the OCBC Centre, a building designed in the Brutalist style by I.M. Pei & Partners and BEP Akitek (Pte) Singapore. Something about the geometric lines and naked concrete.

Panorama of the CBD (left) and Boat Quay up to the Elgin Bridge (far right).

And as MJ reminded me - it's a good time to check out the panorama function of my new smartphone!

National Gallery Singapore
1 St Andrew's Road, Singapore 178957

www.nationalgallery.sg | 360-deg interactive panorama by The Straits Times
Nearest MRT station(s): City Hall