Earlier this year, the second edition of our Art Encounters travelling residency featuring local artist Rizman Putra at the Malay Heritage Centre (MHC) was unfortunately cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rizman’s installation, playfully titled From Gelam to Glam, was envisioned as a black-light drawing installation that paid homage to the historic roots of Kampong Glam and its vibrant contemporary life.
Over two weeks in February, in full view of the public, Rizman worked with a new medium of UV paint to create drawings all over the containers, from ceiling to walls and floors. The parallel striations in the illustrations were inspired by distinct peeling bark of the Gelam tree (paperbark tree), which gave Kampong Glam its name. Rizman also artfully concealed artefacts from the MHC’s then exhibition, Seekor Singa, Seorang Putera dan Sebingkai Cermin: Reflecting and Refracting Singapura, which explored Singapore’s maritime significance in the 15th to 19th century. The result was an intricate, immersive installation that began to glow as night fell, delighting kids and adults alike. The installation was intended to stay open to the public until June, but had to close unexpectedly in early April due to the pandemic.
Although we welcomed plenty of visitors during the installation’s reduced run and had a positive reception, we had hoped that more could experience the magic of Rizman’s work… Well now finally, after months of anticipation, we’re happy to launch a limited-edition series of face mask featuring Rizman’s illustration in its signature bold neon colours.
More than just practical protection, this is a chance to own a piece of art and rep local artists, while also supporting the work that Art Outreach does. Available at S$20 per piece, every mask you purchase lends critical support to keep our public education programmes running at a time when funding for the arts is scarce. For each mask sold, we will pledge $1 to the SGUnited fund through Giving.sg.
The masks will be available for sale through our e-shop from 18 November 2020 at 3pm – just in time to match your festive outfits or as a meaningful gift for friends and family during the season of giving.
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Image Credit
This is not a Mask artwork was inspired by René Magritte's The Treachery of Images (1929).
Art Encounters is a travelling artist’s studio and gallery housed in three repurposed shipping containers. It was launched in Singapore Art Week (2020), by Art Outreach Singapore in partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board. The project was conceived to bring art experiences to unique sites around Singapore, creating space for encounters with art in daily life and at different precincts around Singapore. At each new site, an artist is invited to create site-specific work that gives visitors a rare insight into an artist’s creative process. The completed artwork will be on display for a period of time, enriched with talks and workshops relevant to the artwork.
Rizman Putra graduated with Master of Arts (Fine Arts) from Lasalle College of the Arts in 2007. He is the winner of the 2005 Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry Singapore Foundation Arts Award, a co-founder of the now dissolved art collective Kill Your Television, as well as the founder of the electronic outfit NADA. Rizman has performed and exhibited his works in Australia, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, USA, Taiwan, United Kingdom and Brazil. He was one of the four artists selected for the 2005 President’s Young Talents Exhibition and was also included in the 2005 Fukuoka Triennale. In 2003, he received the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's (RMIT) Most Outstanding Award. He is currently an Associate Artist with Cake Theatrical Productions.