Exhibitions

‘5th Passage: In Search of Lost Time’ Curated by John Tung – Gajah Gallery

Gajah Gallery

Sep 23 - Oct 17, 2021

^{Siew Kee-Liong, G.A.T.E. [门], 2021. Photographic Print on Chromaluxe Metal, 116 X 174 cm
All images courtesy of Gajah Gallery}

“5^th Passage is room for all artists in all fields - actors, musicians, painters, poets, sculptors - a lodge forGiants in the Making and those who dare to dream.”

- Declaration at the launch of 5^th Passage, 1991

Gajah Gallery is proud to present ‘5^th Passage: In Search of Lost Time’, an exhibitionary survey of one of the seminal art initiatives in Singapore’s history. In 1991, 5^th Passage opened at Parkway Parade, a suburban shopping centre in the east of Singapore. Co-founded by Suzann Victor, Han Ling, and Susie Lingham, the initiative was intended to be a haven for a multi-disciplinary range of art forms encompassing visual arts, performing arts, literary arts, music, fashion, and design. In addition, 5^th Passage also organised a range of talks and forums, alongside art outreach programmes for children as well. Inaugurated with the express intention of providing “Access to the Arts”, 5^th Passage situated itself within the “ready-made public” of civic centres, consequently implanting itself within a social memory. While a substantial number of exhibitions, events, and programmes were realised under the auspices of the initiative between its 6 years of operation from 1991 to 1996, explications of the initiative have generally remained peripheral to examinations of singular events occurring during this time period, and thereby defining the initiative on those terms.
 
In the absence of a thorough historicization of 5^th Passage and its wide-ranging activities, the exhibition looks to memories of its existence to reconstitute a basis for establishing its significance within the wider arc of the country’s arts and cultural
 
development. Yet, memory is a fickle thing, and the remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were. Bringing together artists who had presented works under its auspices, this exhibition revives within the wider public consciousness the plethora of activities that articulated the initiative’s ideals and aspirations, while intimating the passage of time that has since elapsed.
 
‘5^th Passage: In Search of Lost Time’ is curated by John Tung, and will be held at Gajah Gallery Singapore, from 23 September to 17 October. Accompanying the exhibition will be a series of online dialogues with the curator and artists, hosted by the gallery.

Participating Artists

Suzann Victor (Co-Founder & Artistic Director, 5^th Passage)
Susie Lingham (Co-Founder Director, 5^th Passage)
John Clang (Participating Artist, Critical Framework, 1993)
Siew Kee Liong (Participating Artist, Body Fields, 1993; Object and Remembrances, 1993; A Dialogue with Memory, 1993; Surrogate Desires, 1994)
Kai Lam (Participating Artist, Artists’ General Assembly, 1993)
Eve Tan (Participating Artist, Artists’ General Assembly, 1993)
Ray Langenbach (Participating Artist, Artists’ General Assembly, 1993; Surrogate Desires, 1994)
Jason Lim (Participating Artist, Artists’ General Assembly, 1993)
Chu Chu Yuan (Participating Artist, Artists’ General Assembly, 1993; Surrogate Desires, 1994; Personae I, 1994)
Susie Wong (Participating Artist – H.O.P.E. (Heal Our Planet Earth), 1992; Personae, 1994; XX Personae II, 1996)

About the Curator

John Tung is an independent curator and exhibition-maker. A former Assistant Curator at the Singapore Art Museum, he curated and co-curated 9 exhibitions, alongside serving as a co-curator for the Singapore Biennale 2016 and Singapore Biennale 2019. His recent appointments include Festival Curator for the 7th Singapore International Photography Festival, ‘Departing and Arriving’, and Associate Curator for the Open House programme, For the House; Against the House – ‘Passion Made Impossible’. He continues to work on numerous independent projects and publications. He holds a BA (Hons) in Arts Management awarded by Goldsmiths, University of London (LASALLE College of the Arts) and an MA in Cultural Management from the Chinese University of Hong Kong where he graduated on the Dean’s List.