exhibition
Gerald Leow
8 Jan – 6 Feb 2022, 10am – 10pm Daily, Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza (near Rain Oculus)
Artist present on Sat & Sun, 4pm – 7pm
As part of Singapore Art Week 2022, Art Encounters travelled to the Marina Bay Sands Event Plaza from 8 Jan to 6 Feb 2022 with Perpetual Motion, an installation of kinetic sculptures by local artist Gerald Leow.
Asking the question “do objects have any meaning without humans?”, this showcase explored the creation of sculpture that finds completion in its interaction with people and its environment. Venturing beyond the containers, Leow erected a series of towering steel columns on the waterfront Event Plaza, that were designed to be turned by hand, or moved by the wind. Symbolically, this circular motion expressed the natural state of renewal, and the turning of tides. It spoke to the way we continually give new meaning to the things we interact with - a result of our own unceasing development.
Leow’s work is often layered with meaning: and here, perpetual motion also referenced his continual drive to experiment in his practice. Keeping with Art Encounters mission to reveal the creative process to the public, there was a showcase of drawings, sketches and photographs inside the containers that provided a glimpse into Leow’s mind, where, freed from the material constraints of physical sculpting, a more fluid and subconscious mode of making resides.
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The artist was also present on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the exhibition to demonstrate the making of his maquettes and add to a wireframe installation within the containers, as well as interact with the public.
An activity station at the Welcome Gallery, invited younger visitors to create their own pinwheels that move in the wind like Leow’s work.
About the Artist
Gerald Leow (b. 1984, Singapore) expresses his fascination with material cultures and anthropology by sampling contemporary culture and indigenous forms together. His practice is a material-based exploration between the boundaries of culture and interpretation. His work has been showcased at Chan + Hori Contemporary (Singapore) and the Queensland College of the Arts (Australia), as part of the Singapore Art Museum Front Lawn Commission (Singapore), Palais de Tokyo (France) and Art Science Museum (Singapore).
Listed below are some of the past installations by Leow that highlight his sustained interest in indigenous architecture and technical understanding of fabrication on a large scale.
Installation
Past Works