REVIEW: "Countershadows (Tactics in Evasion)" @ Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore
Ours is a world uncomfortable with “evasion.” The word is often associated with rich people escaping tax payment, or politicians unwilling to tackle issues directly or refusing to take a stand. But for many, evasion is the key to survival and creativity—across diverse contexts and in intriguing, insightful ways—as is shown in “Countershadows (tactics in evasion),” a group exhibition of seven Singaporean artists, curated by Melanie Pocock at the Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore. Consisting primarily of black-and-white images and objects strewn atop Heman Chong’s Monument to the people we’ve conveniently forgotten (I hate you) (2008– )—a dark pond-like floor installation formed from one million black name-cards—the exhibition is a cave that is mysterious yet crystal clear, where one can entertain and rethink notions of ambiguity and certainty.
