[PhotoSparks] Reinterpret, reframe: finding creativity and opportunity through traditional and modern art

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this photo essay, we feature some of the outstanding art installations from the Singapore exhibitions ‘Reframing Modernism’ and ‘Southeast Asian Dreams.’

In the earlier 115 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art fair, world music festival, painting fair, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, international design week, flower show, outdoor ads, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup T-shirts, business cards, art therapy, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, Vesak, jazz festival, modern art gallery, ecopreneurs, painter-poets, health activists, eNGOs and digital innovators.

Recent visits to Singapore took me to the wide-ranging art installations at the National Gallery, through three exhibitions: ‘Reframing Modernism,’ ‘Between Declarations and Dreams,’ and ‘Art Connector.’ Highlighted artists included China’s Wu Guangzhong and Thailand’s Kamin Lertchaiprasert. The exhibits throw up a range of interesting questions for viewers.

How is Asia redefining itself in the post-colonial globalised digital era? Have the scars of wars and partitions really healed? How do Asians negotiate their artistic and spiritual connections in an increasingly consumerised world? Does religion have the answers – or science; and are we blindly following one or the other? How do we see art and opportunity in the ordinary? Can we find a place for art and design in endless urbanisation?

We hope this photo showcase triggers off your own journey in reinterpreting and reframing Asia’s colourful past, and find your own path to creativity and opportunity. This is the last edition of PhotoSparks for 2016; we wish all our readers a happy and insightful 2017 ahead!

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

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