{"id":2112,"date":"2024-12-14T11:52:43","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T03:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/staging.objectifs.com.sg\/?p=2112"},"modified":"2024-12-14T23:36:01","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T15:36:01","slug":"recap-formulating-sugar-pills-for-a-bitter-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glutenfreepleasure.com\/__proxy_domain\/www.objectifs.com.sg\/recap-formulating-sugar-pills-for-a-bitter-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Recap: Formulating Sugar Pills For A Bitter World"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Exhibition<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Recap: Formulating Sugar Pills For A Bitter World<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Discussion Between Daniel Chong And Sam I-Shan For Curator Open Call 2022<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Curator Open Call<\/a>\u00a0is an annual programme that encourages innovative curatorial approaches to lens-based art. It is part of Objectifs\u2019 ongoing effort to broaden perspectives by supporting curatorial research and innovative ways of presenting image-based work.<\/p>

Curated by Daniel Chong, recipient of Curator Open Call 2022,\u00a0Sugar Pills for a Bitter World<\/em><\/a>\u00a0opened at Objectifs on 22 September 2022. To kick off the exhibition\u2019s list of programmes, Daniel and his mentor, Sam I-shan, held a discussion to share more about the process of realising the exhibition together. They spoke mainly about their curatorial approaches, the importance of mentorship in the curatorial process, and how\u00a0Sugar Pills for a Bitter World<\/em>\u00a0was conceptualized from start to finish. The discussion was moderated by Objectifs\u2019 Programme Director, Chelsea Chua.<\/p>

The following recap has been summarised and edited for brevity.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2018Formulating\u00a0Sugar Pills for a Bitter World<\/em>\u2019 commenced on the topic of curatorial approaches, with the question of what both curators look for in the projects they choose to work on. I-shan, who has had 15 years of curatorial experience under her belt, responded that she is personally drawn to artist-driven works. As she explained it, \u201ca work is never [just] about itself, [or simply] about its excellence\u201d to her. Rather, she sees each work, or body of work, as being \u201cabout the artist\u2019s career, their trajectory, what they are interested in, and where they are at, at that point in time\u201d.<\/p>

Preferring an approach that explores personal inclinations, Daniel explained that his choice of works for curation stems mainly \u201cfrom curiosities which [he] cannot satisfy within [his own] artistic practice, or concerns which are more non-art-related\u201d. In particular, the curation of\u00a0Sugar Pills for a Bitter World<\/em>\u00a0relates to the way he is trying to navigate the world as a young individual.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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From L-R: Chelsea Chua, Daniel Chong, and Sam I-shan<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Initially titled\u00a0A Sincere Absurdity<\/em>, the conversation shed light on the change of title, and how it came about. Agreeing with Chelsea\u2019s observation that the core of the original programme proposal more or less remained the same, Daniel admitted, however, that he grew frustrated with the \u201cunclear language\u201d communicated by the word \u2018absurdity\u2019.<\/p>

Seeking to capture the exhibition\u2019s premise in more accurate terms, it was I-shan\u2019s guidance that enabled him to consider leveraging on subtext in a more \u2018show, and not tell\u2019 manner. She had drawn his attention to how the label of \u2018absurd\u2019 was merely the first layer, and that it was the layers beneath these artistic explorations that were more \u201cdeeply compelling\u201d. \u201cAs the show developed\u201d, Daniel said, \u201cI started to treat absurdity not as a way of the world, but [\u2026] a symptom, [of] how people were unable to understand why it\u2019s going on, or [their attempts] to resist it\u201d.<\/p>

It was clear that the mentorship Daniel received from I-shan played a valuable part in the curatorial process of\u00a0Sugar Pills<\/em>\u00a0for a Bitter World<\/em>. Speaking of her help in further appreciative terms, he emphasised that her mentorship \u2013 specifically her difference in views, her focus on getting him to delineate his reasons for being drawn to certain practices, and their brainstorming sessions \u2013 were especially crucial for him. Constantly encouraged by I-shan to justify why he was so passionate about the works of the artists whom he had chosen to work with, he stated that the process thus helped clarify and identify where these impulses of his came from.<\/p>

I-shan responded that the brainstorming sessions had allowed Daniel to go into more detail on how he wanted to frame the exhibition and artworks. She highlighted the thorough conversations that they had during the mentorship, which gave him the necessary space to separate himself from the works, many of which were by his peers, and look at them almost like an art historian.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Sugar Pills for a Bitter World Exhibition Opening<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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At this point, the talk naturally segued into a discussion of what Daniel looked for when choosing artists to collaborate with. Using\u00a0Sugar Pills for a Bitter World<\/em>\u00a0as an example, he spoke about the importance of personal relatability to him, by way of their works and their approaches. \u201cI could see a similar confusion, or reaction against these changing times, and I am able [\u2026] to see how [the works of\u00a0Desiree<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Avis<\/a>, my studio mates] developed. [I could see how] their train of thought was shaped by the world around them [\u2026] They were willing to go through the same lines of questioning that I too, would go through\u201d he explained. The artists\u2019 forthcoming attitudes about not having the answers to their questions, and their willingness to explore possible explanations also appealed to Daniel. As he put it, \u201cthat was the most important, trying to understand what they didn\u2019t understand, and seeing how I could come in with [\u2026] the third-person perspective\u201d.<\/p>

The collaborative aspect between curator and artists certainly did not go unnoticed in\u00a0Sugar Pills for a Bitter World<\/em>, with I-shan commenting that it \u201creally came through\u201d in the process of staging the exhibition. On that note, she posed Daniel with the question of how he would thus work on an exhibition where the differences between the artists were starker, or if they had an artistic practice which was more hostile to his own. Joking at first that he would not choose to work with such artists in the first place, Daniel responded that he would still try to treat them as his friend first, because he felt that all art works are personal to their creators, and so it would take time to \u2018unlock\u2019 the layers in the individual. Nonetheless, he emphasised that it was important for him to get to understand the artists first before extending an invitation to them, rather than the other way around.<\/p>

A conversation centred on curatorship would definitely be remiss without the mention of space utilisation \u2013 something which I-shan rightly remarked as being key to curatorial work. Being of the opinion that the learning process can only come with actual practice itself, she stated that Objectifs\u2019 Curator Open Call was therefore a great opportunity for curators to work in a space familiar to the organisers, thus reducing stress on all ends while providing support for curatorial experimentation. Adding to that, Daniel also mentioned that when it came to the generation of ideas for the exhibition\u2019s public programmes, working with an institution that had a mailing list like Objectifs was advantageous to begin with. As a result, the eventual programmes planned were made with general accessibility in mind, and those that provided an insight into the impetus of the individual art works were also favoured.<\/p>

Recap by Geraldine Cheng, Sep 2022\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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