For the very first 2018 exhibition in their flagship venue at McCallum Street, SPRMRKT invited two artists to materialise the inspirations and reflections a typical supermarket in Singapore bring out in them. Aptly titled The Supermarket Experience, this exhibition is a showcase of new, specially created pieces by Singaporean ceramics artist Chloe Tan and Vietnamese artist Nguyen Nghia Cuong that will be on exhibit from 10 Jan to 20 March 2018.
Chloe’s works are a series of original objects modelled after supermarket goods that are commonly seen in Singapore supermarkets and have unique meaning to Singaporeans, so much so that they might be considered uniquely Singaporean. This series of works explores the Singapore theme in more ways than one: by adhering to her now-signature work process. Chloe collected clay from various sites in Singapore including Jurong, Yishun and Newton, then combined the collected clay with porcelain to create distinctive textured surfaces and colours.
Vietnamese artist Nguyen Nghia Cuong paints on the cardboard packaging of commonly used household items such as flasks to bring out the insights revealed by an examination of marketing jargon on the packaging. Using what he deems ‘ruthlessness’, Cuong draws over the texts and images leaving behind only what he believes offers important learning points so that the final piece is a colourful and richly layered carpet of logos, trademarks and slogans.
The supermarket may be a universal setting, a trip there a commonplace episode in our lives; but there is beauty in the everyday, and points of particularity that set a Singaporean supermarket experience apart. The artwork will be exhibited amongst the retail products in SPRMRKT: the idea is to celebrate the everyday, and to accentuate and commemorate the unexpectedly special spot a supermarket holds in our daily lives.
DETAILS AT A GLANCE
Venue: SPRMRKT, 2 McCallum Street
Duration: 10 Jan to 20 March 2018
