Discover how colonial photographic imagery and representations in the past have influenced today’s world of contemporary art at Gajah Gallery’s group show Customised Postures, (De)colonising Gestures. We’re talking about how a region’s political, economic and social conditions of colonial relations allegedly carved out visual stereotypes in photographic portraiture such as postures, gestures, body language, and more. The exhibition hopes to evoke and explore this topic across a series of mediums – painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, and multimedia installation.
Some of the artists showing at the exhibition include local artist Suzann Victor. Through her perspective, she reclaims the representation of subjects in Singapore's migrant histories, rectifying the inaccurate portrayals they have endured. Additionally, multi-disciplinary Singaporean artist Robert Zhao will showcase reimagined photographs, utilising artificial intelligence to expand the story of the last crocodile in Katong. Indonesian-born artist Abednego Triango will also shed light on the enduring struggles of Javanese women against oppressive patriarchal cultures, employing manipulation techniques on 20th-century studio portrait photographs.