SAM Tanjong Pagar Distripark’s New Futuristic Exhibition Has Arcade Machines & TraceTogether Replica

Free exhibition at SAM

Since wfh has become the new norm, “I think you’re on mute”, and “can everybody see my screen?” are phrases that have replaced morning greetings and lunch pantry conversations for working adults. Singapore Art Museum (SAM) has a new exhibition that explores precisely that.

The free exhibition is called, pardon us, Can Everybody See My Screen? – and it’s running from now until 11th December at Gallery 2 of SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark.

Art for the new generation

Image credit: Singapore Art Museum

Those familiar with exhibitions held at SAM’s new Tanjong Pagar Distripark outpost would know that it’s not a typical museum. Whether it’s a futuristic art installation that takes the form of a “Wayang Spaceship” or the new Epigram Bookshop with an in-house cafe, it’s a new-generation gallery that makes art accessible to the younger folks.

Navigate the virtual world as an avatar in 2nd Puberty by Xafiér Yap.
Image credit: Singapore Art Museum

Can Everybody See My Screen is just that, as it showcases 12 artworks created post-2000. Forget paintbrushes and canvas; the MVP of this exhibition is the trusty computer screen.

Life Circuit by Urich Lau: Check out live projections of yourself captured via “spy cams”.
Image credit: Singapore Art Museum

Think about it, most of us keep up to date with everything – from current affairs to ex-school mates’ engagement announcements and baby showers – via our phone screens. In this exhibition, artists from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and China use the screen as portals through which our personal experiences are mediated through technology.

Futuristic art installations for the ‘Gram

Teow Yue Han’s Trace2: TraceTogether, but make it cool.
Image credit: Singapore Art Museum

So don’t expect static paintings hung neatly on the walls at this exhibition. Art installations take the form of arcade machines, live projections of audiences, and even a motion sensor-activated tracing system which gives us massive TraceTogether PTSD.

Terra Bajraghosa’s Narcissus Pixelus.
Image credit: Singapore Art Museum

At the reception area, you’ll be greeted by a nostalgic sight, an interactive arcade machine where you can create your own avatar. Print your futuristic “selfie” out and take it home as a souvenir or leave it for public view – your very own contribution to the exhibition, we say.

The P.O.P. Station Greatest Hits by KYTV (Kill Your Television).
Image credit: Singapore Art Museum

Another one that’s brightly lit with a smorgasbord of colours is The P.O.P. Station Greatest Hits by KYTV (Kill Your Television), which takes a dig at the pop music industry in the early 2000s. We’re not spared from being thrown shade at either, as the artist collective also touches on us commonfolks’ quest for fame through going viral on social media.

A Souvenir by Liana Yang.
Image adapted from: Singapore Art Museum

For those who are finding love in a hopeless place, i.e. dating apps, there’s also an installation dedicated just for you. Called A Souvenir by Liana Yang, it takes the form of a claw machine with black balls and a screen that reads “welcome to the puzzle of love”.

The artist explores the role that choice and chance play in modern dating – and you can take part by inserting tokens into it to win a special prize from the machine. Bonus points if you happen to be there with a Tinder or Hinge date – so you can impress them with your 10/10 claw machine skills.

Check out Can Everybody See My Screen?

Mention “museum date”, and you’d probably romanticise strolling around the gallery and taking aesthetic OOTDs by chio neoclassical white panels – you know which ones we’re talking about.

Maybe it’s time to change things up a little and head to SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark to check out this new exhibition. There are also talks and activations with artists, should you be curious to learn more.