Sex, desire and intimacy explored in Singapore art exhibition for over-18s
‘Passion is Volcanic’ at National Gallery Singapore focuses on the artistic expressions of sexual pleasures
Singapore’s reputation might be that of a conservative society that is rather prudish when it comes to physical intimacy and eroticism, but National Gallery Singapore (NGS) is opening a window into its boudoir with an exhibition that focuses on the artistic expressions of sexual pleasures.
“Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art” borrows its title from Liu Kang’s 1953 essay Trip to Bali, in which the Chinese-Singaporean artist wrote that the passions of the Balinese were primal and unstoppable, like a volcanic eruption.
Adele Tan, senior curator at NGS and a co-curator of the exhibition, tells the South China Morning Post: “I wanted to use the lens of eroticism and desire to look at the museum’s collection and see if there were other narratives that may not have been spoken about.”
Showcasing more than 70 works across some 800 years, the exhibition is structured into three fluid chapters that guide visitors through the evolution of desire: “Asian Mythos and Rituals”, “Conventions of the Erotic” and “Public Arenas/Private Interiors”.
Vajradhara and Prajnaparamita, a gilt-copper sculpture from the 14th or 15th century displayed in the first section, depicts two Buddhist deities in a seated, face-to-face, sexual embrace – a Tantric posture designed to synchronise breath and energy for spiritual connection.
Nearby, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook’s 25-minute video work, I’m Living (2002) – in which the Thai artist dresses the corpse of an unknown woman – is accompanied by a textual extract of the Thai artist’s erotic fiction in Thai and English. The controversial video performance probes the concepts of death and ritual, while the erotic fiction harks back to the exhibition’s theme of sex as part of the cycle of life.