Word by Raphael Koh
The Substation’s new exhibition Discipline the City gives visitors an insight into the gritty underbelly of our modern and fast-paced city-state.
Co-curated by Artistic Director Alan Oei and assistant professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design Joshua Comaroff, the three-part exhibition will explore the way architecture in our environment shapes and limits our behavior in what is dubbed as ‘disciplinary design’.
Basically, with deliberately misaligned and unergonomic spaces designed to make the surroundings disorientating for human beings to manoeuvre through, the exhibition makes you wonder if design was meant to make things more aesthetic and convenient.
Consisting of a permanent gallery, a rotating cast, an architectural case competition, a punk-in-residence programme and a series of public programmes and events, the exhibition includes the work of ten artists, five punk tour guides and three punk residencies, each exploring a different aspect of the politics of space through platforms like performance art, design and architecture.
The Substation has also opened up new areas of exploration in the building, such as Debbie Ding’s A Brief History of the Trapdoor, which is a permanent installation that leads you down a trapdoor and into a room with a projector playing a GIF movie and Something Nothing by homegrown artist Chen Sai Hua Kuan as you’re engulfed in whiteness.
It makes for an intriguing experience, but be warned — it may be more petrifying than Halloween Horror Nights if you’re a claustrophobe. (Okay, we kid.)
If you sign up for the series of ticketed guided tours, All Curators Are B_____, you’ll embark on a journey to examine how spaces are shared between the underground punk scene and the contemporary art movement at The Substation. Tours are built upon each curator character’s own fictional story.
As part of the punk-in-residence programme A Manifesto for Space, each month will see a different punk use the space for their own purpose — without restrictions. To watch their actions, check out The Substation’s website for a live stream of what’s happening.
Another highlight is the Persuasive Design Agency, a functioning temporary office with designers that will offer solutions to design problems surfaced by the public. The space will consist of drawings, physical models like 3D printings of prototypes, and a library of books on the topic of design and security.
Discipline the City is on from Aug 23-Sept 24, Oct 4-Oct 22, Nov 1-Nov 26; Wed-Sun noon-8pm at The Substation. Free; $10 for guided tours.
