Art Stage Singapore 2014

I am drinking tea.

Now give me your best, most valiant effort to turn that into a artistic sentence.

Here’s my feeble attempt: I massaged my temples and forlornly turned my gaze towards my unassuming yet innately powerful mug of tea, standing in a corner inviting yet desolate, secluding me to take another sip as I descend further into both warmth and forced vitality.

Might have overdone it.

We Singaporeans have a reputation for being a very academical bunch, losing arts along the way as easy as if they were hair pins. Someone has decided to change that. And now, we have Art Stage Singapore.

Look at how very magnificently imposing it is.

About Art Stage Singapore 2014

Say hello to Art Stage Singapore, which opens this Thursday from 16th January to 19th January.

I attended on opening day and there was not a stark difference from last year but it was vastly more impressive. Everything here was a lot more beautiful, a lot more intricate, a lot more strange, and a lot more lovely.

I went alone and enjoyed it fully. I was free to go around and take photos of everything that amazed me. The exhibitors were friendly and ready to have conversation. The people around all looked to be in their own world.

There was not a soul here was didn’t feel it – the lost art of feeling so dissected with the rest of the world and feeling so wonderfully in tune with the artistic world we almost forgot about.

Highlights from Art Stage Singapore

A live stream of various scene on a busy day, a view of 5 where we usually only see 1.

Childhood through frames.

One of the exhibits I enjoyed the most.

The photographer would take photos of the grandest places in his country and add on his little details to them. He would add drama and add mystique, finally adding a small avatar of himself in every work.

Such a masterpiece.

Reminded me wonderfully of a cross-over from The Last Supper to America’s Next Top Model.

Perspective and its quirks.

One of the suspension pieces on display.

And one of the strangest.

I had the chance to talk to the exhibitor who told me the story behind these series of photographs. Much of his works are in full achingly vibrant colours across a glossy finish. I loved every piece.

I want to own one sigh.

And the dreamiest exhibit.

Everything in this exhibit is a crossover combining antiques from our childhood with memories of our childhood. It was delicate and charming, as opposed to the starkly brilliant work across the fair.

For one day, this place didn’t feel like Singapore. For one day, I truly believed one day we can finally fully embrace the arts and not see it as second to our hectic arts.

Art Stage took me by vigour and inspired me beyond reason.