This artwork is currently part of the exhibition Look Up exhibition at EHL Campus in Singapore curated by Intersections Gallery. Today on the blog we look at the story behind the artwork above.

This series of artworks are part of the Intersection body of works, a collaboration between visual artist Nicola Anthony & poet Marc Nair which explores unspoken histories in Yangon, London, and Singapore. Waterways were a feature of each city that has shaped them geographically, physically and historically. 

There is no life without water and thus water is the most precious gift we have received from Mother Nature. All the major cities have developed along rivers. These rivers not only supply water which essential to life and human activity but, in the past, they also were crucial to facilitate the transportation of goods and connect people. The control of rivers has always been and still is a major geopolitical issue. Today the protection of water against pollution is a new challenge.

"Beneath the Gleaming Glisten" depicts the river Thames in London while " Tell Me about Concrete, Its Lack of Memory" represents the Yangon River" . With these artworks, Nicola Anthony sends us a message: the ecosystems of rivers are currently endangered all over the world and water is at stake in any sustainable development project. To build a brighter future we must protect the limited resources we have received in heritage.

What was the inspiration behind the creation of these pieces?

Journeying the Thames, Yangon River, and Rochor River-turned-Canal the artists found the vestiges of colonial influence, the relentless march of capitalism, and the stubborn refusal of history to disappear. 

These artworks reflect the old and new paths of rivers as well as the fluid nature of ink, tides and time. When we see a river on a map we know that it has changed course during its history, often shaped by man’s intervention. 

Underground there are many unseen streams, tributaries and flows which lead into the river itself. On Nicola’s calligraphy paper this becomes a metaphor for the invisible elements all around us in life that lead to the path we find ourselves on. Fragments from Marc’s poems float alongside the inky river banks.

To take a deeper look at Rochor River in Singapore, we see that it divides two historic settlements (Kampong Glam and Little India). Historically this water source was used to transport timber from Malaysia and Indonesia to local sawmills, and was a channel for goods transportation in early Singapore. Natural pastures at the banks allowed for cattle trade, which eventually led to other activities such as rubber factories, ice works, and markets for used goods such as Sungei Road. In earlier times the river was a source of food and life for the original settlers in swampy singapore who built their stilted houses along its banks and the sea outlet.

“If you look hard enough you can still experience the ghosts and vibrations from the past manifesting in the now. And as artists, all we can do is close our eyes and open ourselves to stimulus and stories.”

This series of artworks were created during Nicola’s time as artist-in-residence at the NPE Art Residency in Kallang, Singapore, 2016-17.

The artwork above features the Yangon River in Myanmar. The artwork is paired with a poem entitled Victory, by Marc Nair:

Victory

The monument in Maha Bandula Park

is no longer the tallest point of reference

for history and its lost conspiracies.

Misinformed skyscrapers engrave another

notch on the skyline as they pile up in

a regiment of exclaimed points.

Tell me about concrete, its lack of memory,

when peacocks adorned every rebel heart

and locks were painted unclasped.

Now, shutters close on the dayʼs end,

and there are beggars on every corner,

eyes thick with billows of street dust.

This artwork seen above is linked to the poem below, written by Marc Nair about Sultan Mosque in Singapore, and the ideas of faith and community.

Call To Prayer

From night that heals and day that breaks, 

a battle won, the body wakes.

The hour dawns, a holy place 

awaits domed hearts in need of grace.  

Here is the ache, here are our needs,

if you could heal, if we could feed

here on our knees, where kingdoms call

in search of faith to build their walls. 

The call to yield, and heed the words

to guide us home like flocks of birds

that wing their way across the earth

to celebrate a season’s birth 

Hayya’alas salah, 

Hayya’alal falah

Allahu Akbar, 

Allahu Akbar

Hasten to pray,

Hasten to success

Allah is the greatest

Allah is the greatest

ADD THESE ARTWORKS TO YOUR COLLECTION:

To purchase Tell Me About Concrete Its Lack of Memory (Yangon River), (Ink on Tree Skin Paper, 50 x 73) click here to visit the gallery’s website.

To Purchase Beneath the Gleaming Glisten (Ink on Tree Skin Paper, 50 x 73) click here to visit the gallery’s website.