At S.E.A. Focus, the core programme of ART SG
By Dai Kai | Singapore Junior Reporter
Chinese version available here: https://sjr.sg/2026/01/23/16858/
The core programme of the fourth edition of ART SG, S.E.A. Focus (Spotlight on Southeast Asia), was held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre. As one of the most significant art events in Singapore and the Southeast Asian region, the exhibition was commissioned by the National Arts Council, Singapore, and founded by UBS.
Upon entering the exhibition halls, visitors are greeted by a rich array of works—paintings, embroidery, sculptures, decorative objects and interactive art installations—interwoven across the space. Diversity of form and quiet ingenuity are evident throughout, inviting visitors not only to look, but to slow down, linger, and explore.
Inside the vividly red UBS pavilion, a rectangular glass panel stands discreetly at a visual golden ratio. Embedded at its centre is a television screen that could easily be overlooked. Displayed on it is a video work from UBS’s 2007 collection: I Love You by Indonesian performance artist Melati Suryodarmo.
In the video, a woman dressed in black and wearing high heels carries a large glass panel on her back. Under visible strain, she repeatedly utters the words “I love you.” She supports, shifts, endures and struggles, yet never truly escapes the weight. If escape is impossible, why continue to repeat “I love you”? The work offers no clear answer. Instead, it draws the attention of this publication’s reporter and invites prolonged reflection.
Over the course of more than five minutes, the woman’s posture changes—from standing upright to bending, crouching, and finally lying on the ground in struggle. Energy fades, yet the words persist. Her perseverance, emotional fluctuation, difficulty and courage unfold under pressure, while “I love you” is spoken again and again. Love, it seems, does not cease. Under such strain, language becomes ambiguous: is it resistance, endurance, or an emotion that cannot be let go?
Nearby, spectators are invited to move beyond observation and into participation. Visitors may write messages on heart-shaped cards and hang them on a communal “love wall,” leaving personal thoughts and blessings to be shared within the exhibition space. They may also witness discarded plastic bottle caps being crushed, heated and pressed into new forms, eventually shaped into large heart-shaped ornaments. With time and patience, visitors can even make one themselves on site and take it home.
Staff members explain that some of the plastic materials come from recycling points in UBS office buildings, while others are collected independently by their organisation. Normally, these plastics are sorted by colour, crushed, melted and reshaped into new products such as colourful benches placed in public spaces. Here, recycling is transformed from an abstract concept into a visible, tangible and meaningful experience.
The exhibition attracts art lovers, collectors and investors from around the world, as well as groups of secondary school students from institutions such as Raffles Institution, Victoria Junior College and Serangoon Garden Secondary School. Some students listen attentively to explanations and take notes, others sketch the artworks, while some sit quietly on benches in contemplation. Each response reflects a genuine encounter with art.
A student from Victoria Junior College points to a painting by a Japanese female artist represented by a Paris gallery and describes it as his favourite work. The flames in the painting are striking, yet within them lies deep blue seawater. On the vast surface, a lone figure swims. To him, the work expresses human smallness within nature—yet without fear, instead conveying calm and composure.
Nearby, several students from Serangoon Garden Secondary School carefully sketch artworks displayed on the opposite wall. Their lines are delicate and expressive, each drawing carrying its own character. Their teacher stands quietly to one side, watching them with evident care and attentiveness.
University students are also present. One student from Nanyang Technological University works part-time at a booth, enthusiastically assisting visitors with photographs. She shares that participating in such an art event alongside her studies broadens her perspective and provides some extra income—an experience she finds genuinely rewarding.
Families, too, are part of the audience, with parents bringing children of all ages. Even very young children appear deeply engaged. What kind of art captures a child’s attention? Without being there, the answer may be difficult to imagine.
In practice, young children are drawn to installations placed at lower heights—simple sculptural walls composed of waves and geometric blocks. They instinctively reach out to touch them, responding with audible wonder. Slightly older children examine large figurative works more carefully, noticing textures, materials and details such as cotton elements above the figures’ heads. Some scan QR codes to listen to the stories behind the artworks.
Art’s appeal, it becomes clear, transcends age and experience. The exhibition also features works by the late Singaporean artist Lim Tze Peng, created when he was over a hundred years old. Calligraphic pieces such as Harmony Brings Prosperity, Gratitude, Kindness in the Heart and Contentment continue to resonate with quiet strength.
Exhibitor ODETOART also presents works by several Chinese artists, including Li Jin, born in Tianjin in 1958 and exhibited widely in Europe, the United States and China. In his Li Jin Goes South series, fish, meat, vegetables and human figures are rendered with candour and humour, often prompting knowing smiles—and occasionally laughter—from viewers.
A delegation from China Global Television Network (CGTN) is also present, introducing an immersive experience that merges art with technology. With visual devices, visitors can view surrounding exhibitions while “touching” luminous three-dimensional images, interacting with virtual artefacts and small animals, and experiencing a space where reality and the virtual seamlessly converge.
The exhibition hall also hosts the French cognac house Martell, a brand with over three centuries of history since its founding in 1715. Its aroma fills the space, captivating even those who do not usually drink alcohol. On display are Martell’s local advertisements from the 1950s, printed in traditional Chinese characters and read in a different orientation from today. These details quietly reveal how even liquor advertisements bear witness to cultural change.
ART SG runs from 23 to 25 January 2026, spanning three days across the ground floor and basement levels of the venue. More than 100 top galleries from over 30 countries are represented, with continuous visitor traffic and selected artworks available for purchase.
Partners of the event include the Singapore Tourism Board’s Passion Made Possible campaign, Singapore Art Week, Marina Bay Sands Singapore, AXA, Martell and China Global Television Network…etc.
In essence, this is an artistic encounter that requires no predetermined stance. One simply needs to arrive with an open mind—to look, to feel, and to listen to the words that continue to echo under pressure:“I love you.”
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