Singapore Art Week (17-26 January) brings together over 160 events for the city's biggest celebration of the visual arts. Read our special supplement here
The Art Newspaper: What project are you working on at the moment?
Tini Aliman: I was offered a residency from the National Arts Council to practice in Berlin for half a year, and I have been here since mid-October 2024. I am working on a show at Künstlerhaus Bethanien which opens on 23 January. As a sound artist, I need an extra step to conceptualise the visual aspects of a presentation. Thinking in sound, I start with the composition and arrangement for a live performance. I have been constructing sound instruments with found items all over Germany and the surrounding Schengen territories, and performing with them as sonic archives of my exploration and travels. With hopes to create a narrative or to retell the stories of the land, their inhabitants, the ecosystem and communities, I map these sounds to create some form of soundscape ecology and “poetic cartography”.
In your experience, how has Singapore’s art scene evolved over the past decade?
We form a unique community that is keen to learn from each other and, in our own unique way, seek to collaborate across various disciplines and practice. It is exciting to be part of a time where there are hardly any arts practitioners with a singular practice; film-makers are sound artists, playwrights are visual artists, sculptors are musicians and visual artists experiment with movement, to name a few.
What do you think is the most distinctive thing about Singapore’s art scene?
Being away in the last few months got me thinking of our artistic practice in Singapore, not as a comparison between countries but what shapes us individually, as well as a community. Being a young nation with slightly over half a century of political history, the idea of identity is quite prevalent in the interest of the arts practitioners in Singapore. Some of us are keen to look beyond pre-colonised Singapore and the surrounding Southeast Asian region, narrating stories of the previous generations and ancestors, finding out a thing or two about ourselves, and to rewrite and tell our stories.
What would you recommend to first-time visitors to Singapore?
I hosted a visitor from Germany for four weeks last May. After the quintessential Singapore food tour, and visiting our museums, art spaces and attending performances and showcases, my guest told me, “Underneath the surface of this bustling, exciting and clean metropolis lies a quiet city with a community of people who want to share their stories.” I would recommend taking visitors to see the different sides and many faces of the island. For example, a walk to Chek Jawa or a picnic at Changi Village on Sundays after a day in Sentosa, to Haw Par Villa or Sri Senpaga Vinayagar Temple after visiting the National Gallery, and to Haig Road or Mustafa Centre on Sundays after the Civic District. Remember to feed them supper at 4am, preferably the teochew porridge.
What events or exhibitions are you looking forward to attending during Singapore Art Week?
Unfortunately, I will be missing SAW 2025 as I am based in Germany for now. Sonic Sessions (Tanjong Pagar Distripark, 17-25 January), Yee I-Lann: Mansau-Ansau (Singapore Art Museum, until 23 March) and Fyerool Darma: krØmæ§piritZ (Yeo Workshop, until 2 March) are the ones that I am keen to attend if I am in town.