one last visit: Ever Present

Happy Place, Happy Space

Over the summer, we made several visits to the National Gallery of Singapore to immerse ourselves in Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia, one of the most captivating exhibitions and engaging curations of art I’ve experienced.

This week, Older Child and I made one final visit before the exhibition closes.

We noticed that they made it free to all visitors in these final days.

We spent time with our favourite pieces, and engaged with some others we had paid little notice to before.

Gallery of batiks, the collaboration on the right is titled Cahaya (Light), the one on the left is Untitled. Older Child is visiting with a carved painted wooden water buffalo.

Sharing with you now my absolute favourite work: Berceuse (2017), a 3-channel video installation by Christian Thompson.

In Berceuse, titled from French word for lullaby, Christian Thompson performs a gesture of a re-imagining his traditional language Bidjara, a language now categorised as extinct.

The work is premised on a notion, that if one word of Bidjara is spoken, in this case, in the form of song, it is a living language echoed powerfully in the gallery context. Combining evocative chanting and electronic elements, Thompson invokes the cultural experiences and narrative of his Bidjara culture.

… Thompson seeks to allow a sensory experience of language through the vocal textures he creates via the sole use of his voice and simultaneously evokes the textures of the Australian landscape via gentle silhouette forms. Berceuse draws the audience into a space in time, a hypnotic melody that transcends space and time whilst being powerfully connected to the contemporary present.

Michael Reid

I was fascinated, haunted, moved. It was a work that reached out to me each time I visited. Happily, I found a youtube video of the installation:

“Berceuse” (2017),Christian Thompson

Reading your Joyful Posts brings me to my happy place. I hope having them in one place makes it easier for you to find when you need a bit of happy therapy, too.

If you would like to join in Happy Place, Happy Space, ping back to this post and I will include you next week.

• Barbara at Thistles and Kiwis’ This Week’s Small Pleasures: returns to the swing of things after her vacation
• Carol Ann at Fashioned for Joy‘s Delights: savours wildness, meal kits, washing dishes and generosity in art
• Jean at Drawn In’s Until Next Year (maybe): paints the last mushrooms of the year
• Jude from Cornwall in Colours‘ In My Neighbourhood: gives us a peek at stunning blooms in her neighbourhood, including a large fuschia hedge
• Laurie at Notes from the Hinterland‘s Now I’m 65: gives thanks for a birthday; happy birthday Laurie!
• Natalie the Explorer‘s Ward’s Islands Summer Getaways: shares a quick getaway
• Trent at Trent’s World‘s Scotland Trip 2022 Part 4: tours castles
• Xingfu Mama‘s Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge: enjoys a peaceful morning

This post in my contribution to

• Natalie the Explorer’s Weekend Coffee Share
• Xingfu Mama’s Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge