Singaporean artist Heman Chong’s works are generally characterised by their narrative sense and conceptual expression.
“Calendars,” which is composed of 1001 images Chong took between 2004 and 2010 of deserted public areas in Singapore, and printed as pages of a calendar set in the future, is no exception.
It explores time, space and situation — concerns that are central to Chong’s own artistic practice.
“Calendars” may seem simplistic in its grid-like arrangement, but is a highly complex work on multiple levels.
Time is a major theme in this work, announced first by the title and secondly, by the presentation.
Each image is photographed in a highly objective manner, betraying none of the subjective interiorities of the artist.
They instantly evoke the factual documentation of an archive — emphasized by the rules of how time is recorded in its calendar format.
Yet, the chronological nature of “Calendar” is disrupted by the blatant disregard to time, both in the manner that the individual calendars are arranged and the way that images of the past become projected into the future.
Similarly, the artist’s decision to photograph spaces devoid of human presence in a country known for its high population density evokes a fictional post-apocalyptic world.
In this way, “Calendars” fits well into Chong’s highly conceptualized investigations of the human condition, where he often blurs the boundaries between fiction and narrative in order to prompt the viewer into rethinking the world as they know it, and to imagine the world of the future. Yunyi Lau
See Heman Chong’s work in ‘Time of Others’ at Singapore Art Museum (71 Bras Basah Rd) until Feb 28. Mon-Sun 10am – 7pm, Fri 10am-9pm.
