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Berny Tan: On Vulnerability, Empathy & The Changing Approach To Contemporary Art

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Berny Tan: On Vulnerability, Empathy & The Changing Approach To Contemporary Art

A new generation of art curators here is re-shaping what makes a show, how artists should be treated and who makes a curator in the first place, giving form to one of the most exciting times in Singapore art. Here, emerging curator Berny Tan shares what shapes her practice, as well as the artists she recommends.

by Keng Yang Shuen  /   January 13, 2022

Berny Tan – pictured here in her home studio filled with her own tactile works – has built a curatorial practice that’s based on “empathy, sensitivity and collaboration”. She particularly enjoys working with artists who have an affinity for materials and make art because they are sincerely compelled to put thoroughly thought-out versions of their ideas into the world. Credit: Phyllicia Wang

“The process of art-making is a vulnerable one,” says Berny Tan, a 31-year-old curator who’s been practicing in various capacities before going independent in 2019. And getting an artist to divulge about it calls for great sensitivity.

“As a curator, it is my responsibility to listen to and learn from the artists; to be gentle with this vulnerability that they have entrusted to me; and to return their generosity with my own.”

READ MORE: The Must-See Highlights Of Singapore Art Week 2022

Being a practising artist herself (her tactile works interweave embroidery, textiles and elements of language) helps her to better understand both sides of the artist-curator relationship. It’s also allowed Tan to craft a curatorial practice based on empathy, awareness and active collaboration.

Maybe We Read Too Much Into Things – held last January as part of Singapore Art Week – for example, was a widely covered group show that saw six artists reinterpret everyday objects (think a clothes peg, a piece of biscuit, a sponge). Spanning sculptures to painting to animation, the exhibition was at once thought-provoking and delightful for art fiends and novices alike.

Credit:Installation view of the exhibition Sewing Discord at Jendela (Visual Arts Space), Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, 2021. Image courtesy of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay

Tan’s own artworks are known to be tactile pieces that interweave embroidery, textiles and elements of language – here, a 2021 work titled Talismans for Disentanglement. 

“I work best not only when artists’ practices surprise and excite me, but also when I can connect with artists on a personal level and feel like I can develop alongside them,” says Tan.

“I’m just fascinated by how other artists work differently from me, and I use this to guide the exhibitions that I devise and how I engage with artists and their works.”

This month, she reveals Bad Imitation at Tanjong Pagar Distripark as part of Singapore Art Week – a show she co-curated with fellow artist and curator Daniel Chong. Its tantalising premise: seven artists coming together to engage in acts of “deliberately imprecise imitation”, promising surprises aplenty as they play on what constitutes original work and a copy.

READ MORE: This Art Project Wants To Buy Your Happy Memories

“In the realm of contemporary art today, there is perhaps more space for different kinds of curators beyond the traditionally academic curator that you would find in a museum,” says Tan. “There is a growing diversity of artists, mediums, approaches, exhibition spaces and even understanding of what art can be and how it can be experienced.”

Below, Tan shares with us her curation process and the emerging artists she recommends.


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https://www.femalemag.com.sg/gallery/culture/curator-berny-tan/
Berny Tan: On Vulnerability, Empathy & The Changing Approach To Contemporary Art
THE ARTISTS YOU SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO
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“Many of the artists that I think deserve attention are exactly the artists that I’ve worked with before or are planning to work with in future – such as Aki Hassan, Ashley Hi, Daniel Chong, Genevieve Leong, Lee Wan Xiang, and Victoria Hertel (all artists whose works are illustrated throughout this story), just to name a few. These are younger artists in their 20s or early 30s who are just in the beginnings of their practice – as am I – but who have already developed strong, identifiable sensibilities, and work with their chosen mediums in compelling ways. I find myself intrigued by their methods, and fascinated by their deep, nuanced engagement with their chosen materials and ideas.”

Aki Hassan, A Tired Holder, Held and Holding, 2021. Photo by Marvin Tang
ON THE GENERAL ROLE OF A CURATOR
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“I’d only be able to speak from my personal experience, as every curator works within different contexts and to achieve different objectives. My working style would greatly differ from a museum curator – who has to work according to the institution’s schedules, departments, and stakeholders – or even another independent curator, depending on their own sensibilities and preferences.

And every project starts from a different place – it could begin with a specific artist, or a specific combination of artists, or it could begin with an idea or a text, or it could really be devised entirely in response to a physical space. It might even be determined by the requirements of available grants and funding sources – would it need to engage the public, or respond to certain themes, or would the artists need to be of a certain age or working within a certain medium? There are a multitude of ways in which the seed of an exhibition might be planted, and a multitude of paths that the exhibition might take in the process of being put together.

But in general, a curator would work within the realms of devising the conceptual framework for an exhibition or programme, selecting artists, engaging artists in conversation and critique about their works, negotiating the presentation of artworks within a given physical or even digital space, shaping the audience experience of an exhibition and the artworks within it, and writing exhibition texts and curatorial essays about the art and artists. A curator might even build relationships with artists over time without having any concrete projects that they are working on, until the right opportunities arise.”

Victoria Hertel, Short Circuit, 2021
ON HOW THE NEXT GENERATION OF INDEPENDENT CURATORS ARE CHANGING OR ADDING TO THE LOCAL ART SCENE
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“In my opinion, having more curators with diverse backgrounds and approaches can only be a good thing; even better that each curator has their own personal preferences and connections with various artists, so that different artists will have their own or even multiple platforms to present their works. What I particularly enjoy is seeing artists and their works outside of traditional art institutions and galleries, removed from certain historical or conceptual frameworks, commercial concerns, or connotations of legitimacy.

In a time of instability in the arts – the ‘closure’ of the Substation, the loss of the NTU CCA exhibition space, the dormancy of the Institute of Contemporary Art, a period of evolution for the Singapore Art Museum, not to mention the impact of the pandemic – I think it’s very exciting that independent curators, or even artists themselves, are carving out their own spaces to present their works and ideas.”

Victoria Hertel, Bell, 2021
ON THE QUALITIES THAT MAKE FOR A WELL-CURATED EXHIBITION
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“I don’t think there’s a set of fixed criteria – I personally think a lot of it is contextual. But I would say that I ask myself some of these questions: Does the exhibition make the most thoughtful use of the space that it has? Were the curatorial choices in the best interest of the artists, and of the resonance between different works? Are the artworks enhanced by the way in which they are presented?

What kind of feelings and thoughts did I experience, and how does that relate to the objectives of the exhibition? How is the information about the show conveyed – was the exhibition text written and presented in the most effective way, or is the show better experienced with a sense of mystery?”

Genevieve Leong, Intricacies of Support, 2021
ON THE FACTORS THAT HELP GIVE SHAPE TO HER CURATORIAL PRACTICE
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“I learn a lot from just looking at and thinking about the art and visual culture around me. That means regularly going to exhibitions, meeting or chatting with artists to see what they’re working on, and keeping track of artists’ works and projects through social media. It also means thoughtfully observing the world outside of what might be defined as ‘visual art’, whether it’s popular culture, current events, or our everyday environment.

There’s a necessary process of introspection that underlies all of this – thinking about what I’m drawn to, or dislike, or believe in, and why. But I find that my practice develops the most from actually doing the work of curating exhibitions. Each project presents unique challenges, and the ways I and the artists respond to these circumstances can tell me a lot about what I value and how I can improve.”

Lee Wan Xiang, Untitled, 2019
ON THE STATE OF SINGAPORE'S ART SCENE IN 2022
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“I’m excited to see what is to come from relatively new independent art spaces such as starch, Comma Space, and Field Studies. I’m also very interested in the developments at the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), now that they’ve moved to their new temporary space at Tanjong Pagar Distripark. I’m looking forward to SAM’s first exhibition featuring The Observatory, and I’m curious to see what they have in store for the 2022 Singapore Biennale. I’m also very glad that SAM has recently committed to a residency programme for artists and curators, which I’ll be participating in in the later part of 2022.

As for limitations and drawbacks, I do think that artists in Singapore have been struggling for a long time with this dependency that we have on state funding. While we are appreciative of the financial support, we are also very conscious of the conditions of this funding. It also seems like art institutions here are in a state of flux due to various factors, and I hope to see more rigour and leadership from them in the coming years.”

Ashley Hi, Light Wind, 2017
ON HER UPCOMING PROJECTS
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“As part of Singapore Art Week 2022, I am co-curating an exhibition titled Bad Imitation with fellow artist and curator Daniel Chong. This group exhibition brings together seven diverse art practices that engage in acts of deliberately imprecise imitation, generating new meanings and surprising encounters within the gap between copy and original. We will be presenting new commissions by Ashley Hi, Catherine Hu, Khairullah Rahim in collaboration with Nghia Phung, Michael Lee, Moses Tan, Pat Toh, as well as Daniel himself. This will take place at Tanjong Pagar Distripark from January 14 to January 23.

I’m also curating a series of exhibitions that will be held in February 2022 at Field Studies, a newly opened independent art space run by Robert Zhao and Ang Song Nian. Conceived as an unconventional drawing show, Three Sketches for a Lost Year will be organised into three parts – Grid, Curve, and Mark – motifs that are inspired by basic elements in drawing practices. Each part will present five artists working in different mediums, from drawing itself to sculpture and even kinetic art. The works move beyond the understanding of drawing as pencil-on-paper to contemplate lines in space, and the sketching-out of an image or idea.

Three Sketches is meant not just as an intimate survey of the role of drawing in emerging contemporary art practices in Singapore, but also a curatorial experiment that reflects the nature of the artworks within the structure of the exhibition. In keeping with the brevity of a ‘sketch’, each of the three exhibitions will last for only three days (Friday to Sunday), over three consecutive weekends.”

Photography Phyllicia Wang Art Direction Jonathan Chia Hair Linh/Itto+Lim Makeup Kenneth Chia, using Nars

A version of this article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2022 Art & Music: The Analogue Edition of FEMALE

Daniel Chong, A pair of worn jeans containing the replica of spilt Fruit Loop cereal forming the Monoceros constellation. (A discreet joy, lost), 2021. Photo by Marvin Tang
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