Goh Beng Kwan: Nervous City (Something New Must Turn Up series)

Goh Beng Kwan is recognised for his masterful use of collage to explore issues around identity, cultural representation, and urban life. “Nervous City” is a phrase Goh often uses to describe New York, where he lived in the 1960s, to allude to its frenetic pace, high stress level and polluted atmosphere. It may also express his sentiments towards the rapidly industrialising cityscape of Singapore upon his return in 1966. Featuring essays, interviews, and the artist’s photographs alongside his artworks, this catalogue explores how the urban environment has shaped the material and cultural basis for Goh’s artmaking from the 1950s to the 1990s. Goh Beng Kwan: Nervous City is part of the Something New Must Turn Up series which offers a comparative perspective of how artistic forerunners in post-independence Singapore critically engaged with the conditions of multiculturalism, developmentalism and modernisation through ground-breaking explorations of media.

Publisher: National Gallery Singapore
Author Biography: Joleen Loh is Assistant Curator at National Gallery Singapore.
Language: English
Country of Origin: Singapore
Page count: 116
Binding: Paperback
Search words: Goh Beng Kwan, collage, photography