The Natural History of an Island
Group Exhibition Three Shadows Photograph Art Centre, Beijing

Artists: Robert ZHAO Renhui 赵仁辉 | 

Running parallel to the history of Singapore as an island city-state, "The Natural History of An Island" features 10 artists who explore the historical and contemporary narratives through photographs, installations and films.

Prior to her independence in 1965, the story of Singapore began with the legendary sighting of a lion on her shores by a prince from Palembang. In the 19th century, the island, then  known as "Singapura", developed as a strategic colonial outpost by the British in Southeast Asia, and very soon became a bustling port in the Southern Sea for migrants. By the 21st century, Singapore became popularly known as the "little red dot" blossoming into a garden city.

Across time and history, the perceived nature and the natural are made to fall within perimeters of our constructed relationship with the island, and subjected to the allocation of resources and manpower. Our connection with the island and understanding of its narratives are thus shaped by the environment resulting from human interventions, control and fabrication.

While the exhibition ruminates on the many representations of the island which are perpetually created and altered by humans, the "Garden in the City" stands as evidence and witness to its own growth.

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