Ming Wong: Life of Imitation

Life of Imitation celebrates and reflects on the context of the Golden Age of Singapore cinema in the 1950s and 60s: an era of nation-building, struggle, rapid modernisation, and cinematic utopia. This award-winning exhibition premiered at the Singapore Pavilion in the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009, organised by the National Arts Council (Singapore), curated by Tang Fu Kuen, and presenting artist Ming Wong who won Special Mention from the jury. This is the highest accolade ever received by Singapore at the most prestigious international art platform. The Singapore Art Museum is proud to re-stage the show on homeground — with a new design and additional exhibits — before bringing it on tour to other cities. Inspired by Singapore’s rich screen legacy, Ming Wong re-reads ‘national cinema’ as mediated by language, role-playing and identity. He re-interprets films which engage with performative notions of mis-casting and parroting, and reflects on Singapore’s roots, hybridity and politics of becoming.

Publisher: Singapore Art Museum
Author Biography: Fu Kuen TANG is Curator of Taipei Arts Festival (TAF), a city-wide platform held annually in August to present contemporary local and international productions. Celebrating its 20th edition in 2018 with the theme 'Assembly', TAF is helmed by Taipei Performing Arts Center (TPAC) which also runs the Taipei Children's Festival and Taipei Fringe Festival. TPAC will organise ISPA in Taipei in 2020. Fu Kuen worked previously in immaterial patrimoine in UNESCO (Paris) and in SEAMEO-SPAFA (Bangkok). He was sole curator of the Singapore pavilion at 53rd Venice Biennale which was awarded Special Jury Mention. As independent curator and producer and dramaturg, he worked across Asia and Europe for platforms including: Singapore Arts Festival, Indonesian Dance Festival, In-Transit Festival (Berlin), December Dance (Brugge), Exodus (Ljubljana), Colombo Dance Platform and Bangkok Fringe Festival. He read theatre, literature, media and cultural theory at National University of Singapore and University of London
Language: English
Country of Origin: Singapore
Page count: 120
Binding: Hardcover
Search words: Ming Wong, cinema, Singapore cinema, Venice Biennale, Singapore Pavilion