HINDSIGHT IS 20/20 , 2021

COLLABORATION | SINGLE CHANNEL VIDEO

Hindsight is 20/20
duration 2:27 minutes
YANYUN CHEN / CHIA YAIM CHONG

How does one begin to describe the inane restlessness and psychic volatility, without recourse, which was 2020? What constitutes creative production and privilege in a time when the stage is shut, and society has deemed art as no.1 non-essential during a pandemic in Singapore? What are artists to do when they are just not needed? With hindsight, visual artist Yanyun Chen and singer-songwriter Chia Yaim Chong offer a glimpse of a Singaporean artist’s life under lockdown, in the only way they know how: a new work.

The Asian Art Institutum, in collaboration with Gasworks, London, presents Open to Interpretation.
Commissioned by Asian Art Institutum, Singapore and National Arts Council, Singapore.

Mentored by co-curators Alessio Antoniolli, Gasworks, London and Wells Fray-Smith, Whitechapel Gallery, London, as well as social media experts, five Singaporean contemporary artists are invited to conceptualise and create 3-minute videos exploring the resonance and impact of the online platform. These specially commissioned digital artworks will be presented on Asian Art Institutum’s Youtube channel.

Collaboration with Chia Yaim Chong

Chia Yaim Chong (b. 1995, Singapore) is an artist, producer and singer-songwriter who works largely in the medium of sound. Under the artist moniker yams, he has released several singles and a debut EP, inconsistent (2020) - spinning evocative stories that refuse to adhere to any single genre, ranging from indie folk to alternative r&b. His works explore the themes of the self, examining the threads that bind us: history, trauma, nation. He loves a good maggie goreng.

Screenings

Singapore Art Week 2021, Open to Interpretation Online Digital Showcase.
Semi-Finalist, AXD Film Festival, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
2021 International Short Film Festival Canton, Guangzhou, China.