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Suzann Victor, Fire Water (representation), 2021

STPI Gallery is pleased to announce Of Waters, a solo exhibition by prolific Singaporean artist Suzann Victor and curated by Marc Gloede. Of Waters is presented as part of Galleries Curate: RHE.

In the first days of the COVID-19 pandemic, an informal group of contemporary galleries from around the world came together to discuss how to navigate the new challenges of the crisis as it affected our artists, staff and businesses. This community was a source of support during the difficult period of the global pandemic, and an international ground-up network was formed despite being physically confined in our countries. As an expression of this unity, the group initiated Galleries Curate, a collaborative exhibition by twenty- one galleries to express the dynamic dialogue between our individual programmes. STPI is glad to work with local artist Suzann Victor for this project to present the artist on an international platform.

The exhibition Of Waters brings together three seminal works by the artist which highlight the artist’s interest and investigation into the element of water. With two gallery installations (where one is also presented online) and one print work, the exhibition invites the audience to experience the multifaceted practice of the artist and dive into an immersive experience.

Of Waters explores the different (sound) qualities that water contains. The physical installation and online presentation of Fire Water (2021) (in collaboration with Martin Kirkwood) offers a dark room in which the audience oscillates between different readings of the sound source. In stark contrast, Strike (2021) offers an archipelagic landscape of crystalline water containers that visitors can turn into a Glockenspiel. Finally, Portwine – Romance included (2015) is an encounter with the visual dimension of the element and this resonates with the artistic process.

With these three corresponding components of the exhibition, Of Waters allows a deeper understanding of the artist’s continuous interest in the element. Furthermore, the exhibition encourages the visitors to recalibrate their senses, reflect on their own preconceptions of water, and experience the multiple potentialities that are embedded in the element.

The online presentation of Fire Water on the Galleries Curate: RHE website will be available from 27 April to 11 May 2021 at galleriescurate.com.

Watch a trailer of Suzann Victor’s Strike (2021) here.

In Dialogue with Suzann Victor and Marc Gloede

Artist Suzann Victor and Guest Curator Marc Gloede discussed how the element of water echoes across the artist’s body of work. In her practice, this exchange with the element requires a multisensory approach that, when transformed into works, similarly flows through all of the audiences’ senses. Beyond that, the talk will be an open-ended and candid exchange, allowing for the conversation to flow along in organic directions, much like the sense-shifting qualities of water.

Watch the recording of the talk here.

In Dialogue with Suzann Victor, Penny Siopis & Martin Guinard-Terrin | Moderated by Clément Delépine

Suzann Victor, South African artist Penny Siopis, and co-curator of the 12th Taipei Biennial ‘You and I Don’t Live on the Same Planet’ Martin Guinard-Terrin spoke on the artists’ contribution for RHE. The discussion was moderated by Galleries Curate coordinator Clément Delépine. With a focus on Victor’s Fire Water (2021) as well as Siopis’ She Breathes Water (2019) and Obscure White Messenger (2010), the speakers will share their thoughts on the mutability of perception. From a bodily to planetary scale, the discussion will flow between the micro and macro perspectives that the works inspire, such as getting deep in touch with your sensorial capabilities, to the ecological urgency of the state of Earth today. The discussion will also touch on non-human actants to defamiliarise our normative modes of perception, and what that can offer in re-thinking how history is written.

Watch the recording of the talk here.