SOIL
SOIL
“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulder of giants.” - Issac Newton
The story of Kua Fu Jiu Re, a Chinese myth, is an analogy for how The Substation has been the soil upon which many of our Singaporean artist were nurtured. In the myth, Kua Fu chases the sun because it is destroying his village’s crops. Ultimately Kua Fu fails and crashes to the ground. His body becomes a mountain range upon which a forest springs up. The Substation was opened by Kuo Pao Kun in 1990. For many, he was the visionary that ignited Singapore’s art scene.
In “Soil”, we explore the growing of wild plants in The Substation’s Box Office. The artists in Singapore have to grow in a difficult place, like wild plants in cement drains or on road sides. The Substation “Soil” gave a nurturing home to diverse artists. Some of the artists grew beyond the soil of The Substation and became the fruit of the arts for the whole of Singapore.
This project was an invitation to photographer Tan Ngiap Heng and multi-disciplinary artist Lim Chin Huat to collaborate in a fun new medium. Their work is inspired by the history of the space including their own personal history. Experimenting with plants and multimedia, this is a unique blend of artistic exploration for Ngiap Heng and Chin Huat.