Jun 03, 2011 17:13 +08 Pavilion Opens at the Venice 2011

Singapore artist presents “The Cloud of Unknowing”, a video art installation at the Singapore Pavilion of the 54th . The Pavilion will be officially opened on Wednesday, 1 June at the Salone di Ss. Filippo e Giacomo del Museo Diocesano di Venezia, Italyby the Chairman of the National Arts Council (NAC) Singapore, Mr Edmund Cheng.

Mr Khor Kok Wah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, NAC, said, “I am pleased that Singapore continues to be a part of the Venice Biennale even as we strive to establish similar international platforms like the recently concluded , and in January this year. Such international platforms are vital for the creative connections that are forged across borders and cultures.”

The theme of this year’s Venice Biennale, “ILLUMInations”, calls for a reflection upon the conventions through which contemporary art is viewed.

Ho’s audio-visual installation explores art history, looking at forms of illumination, luminance and of being transported by clouds. His piece portrays the sensory experience of eight different characters occupying apartments in a deserted, low-income public housing block in Singapore, each of whom has an encounter with a cloud which alternates between appearing as a figure, and a vaporous mist.

“The Cloud of Unknowing” is commissioned and presented by The National Arts Council Singapore and supported by the Lee Foundation and Mori Art Museum. The curator of the pavilion, June Yap, is an independent curator based in Singapore. She has curated with the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore (LASALLE) and the .

The Singapore Pavilion opens Wednesday, 1 June 2011, 12 noon (Venice Time), 6pm (Singapore Time) for the Professional Preview until 3 June. Exhibition days for members of the public will be from 4 June to 27 November 2011. The venue is the Salone di Ss. Filippo e Giacomo del Museo Diocesano di Venezia, Italy.

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