Art Republik Issue 17 is just out. You will find there my article on collectorship in Cambodia, where I have interviewed curator Reaksmey Yean, dancer and collector Sophiline Cheam Shapiro and artist Sophal Neak, discussing the concept on building an art collection in a country where the art infrastructure is still absent.
Here is the link to the pdf version of the piece
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I feel today the MAXXI Museum in Rome is the one contemporary art institution who is really nailing it in the Eternal City. The multifaceted and highly political show “Home Beirut: Sounding the Neighbors” is proof of that. The exhibition focuses on Beirut artists representing city’s development and destiny, and introducing the local artistic scene to a European public.
This show is the third chapter of the “Mediterranean Trilogy” through which the MAXXI has been examining the interaction between the artistic communities of Europe and the Middle East. The aim is prompting the birth of a new trans-Mediterranean culture, critically important for the global landscape of artistic creation.
The show presented 30 artists, architects, filmmakers, musicians, dancers, researchers, activists negotiating between critical reflections of recent history of conflicts, through archiving and re-enacting memories, and prospection of the future, through attempts of urban transformation and global outreaching.
Here is the link to the review
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Singaporean artist Ho Tzu Nyen has a new show at the Berlin gallery Michael Janssen, called No Man II. In this interview for CoBo, I spoke with him about his process, his conception of his characters as empty shells, and his love for books. Ho Tzu Nyen’s work and ideas are endlessly fascinating for me.
Here is the link to the interview
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CoBo has just published my new piece titled “5 Singaporean artists working with the theme of Bureaucracy”. Researching the Singaporean art system and the artists’ practice, I noticed the emergence of this set of preoccupations with organisation, repetition, boredom, archiving, censorship, procedures, rules – which definitely dismantles the romantic idea of the artist as we conceived it. Bureaucracy is so pervasive in society such as the Singaporean one, that becomes not only a conditio sine qua non for art to be happening, but also a subject in itself to reflect on. This article features artists Jack Tan, Terry Wee, Zihan Loo, Lim Tzay-Chuen and Lai Yu Tong.
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Third collaboration with the magazine Art Republik, which has just published my article on Epic Arts Cambodia. This is an outstanding art space in Kampot empowering disabled individuals through art. For this piece I spoke with Epic Arts co-director Sokny Onn.
Here is the link to the pdf version of the article
Here is the link to Art Republik’s website
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CoBo has just published my interview with gallerist Audrey Yeo, director of Yeo Workshop in Singapore. I realized the interview a few months ago and it was greatly inspiring to talk with such an important igniter of the Singaporean art scene.
Here is the link to the interview
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D_Railed magazine has just published my new article called “A New Book On Australian Contemporary Art Foregrounds Questions About Diversity” – the article is based on the polemics about the lack of diversity in the image of Australian art, ensued after the publication of a new book entitled Australiana to Zeitgeist: An A-Z of Australian Contemporary Art (2017). But is Australian contemporary art as white as it seems? And how is it perceived abroad? I address these question in the piece talking with artist Tony Albert, curator Natalie King and Sophia Cai, and of course Melissa Loughnan, the author of the book.
Speaking of books – this is my latest article submitted for July, as I’m devoting August to finish my own book on Singapore Contemporary Art. Since the first of August I have been diving deep into it, getting into a hyper-focused state whether I’m travelling on noisy Neapolitan trains, sitting in quiet Sorrentinian cafès in the garden, in waiting rooms, libraries or at my kitchen table at home. This is an important lesson I have learned from my friend Giovanna – you don’t need to wait the perfect conditions to do the work – just get concentrated, wherever you are. Soon I’ll probably write a post about my new mind state and routine, but for now…
Here is the link to the D_Railed article
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For the Hong Kong webmagazine and collectors’ platform CoBo I usually write about Indonesian and Singaporean artists, and the dynamics of their art systems. It goes without saying that the two art environments are highly connected. Sometimes an event or a show happens which remixes the way the two art systems interact, and that’s precisely what happened with the Super/Natural show in Yogyakarta, by Gajah Gallery.
In this piece I look at this pioneering operation, talking with the gallerist Jasdeep Sandhu and the two curators, trying to ponder what this show meant, and if it can have a legacy for the evolution of both the Singaporean and the Indonesian art systems.
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In freelance writing there is a time to sow and a time to harvest. In the past couple of months I have written a few articles that have been published all in these last few days. It always a joy to see my words in print, so if you are around Singapore grab a copy of this month’s Art Republik.
You will find a piece on two very interesting art spaces in Phnom Penh, with my interviews to the fantastic Meta Moeng and Erin Gleeson, who are both greatly contributing in animating the local art scene.
Here’s the link to the pdf version of the piece
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Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich is part of the show “Viva Arte Viva” by Christine Macel at the Venice Biennale. In this piece for CoBo – part of my report on this year’s Venice Biennale retrace the artistic vision of Pich to better understand how to look at his work in this international avenue.
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Even though I have been quite critical of this Venice Biennale as a whole, I still love many of the artists who have exhibited both in the show and in the national pavilions. Lani Maestro, representing Philippines together with Manuel Ocampo, is definitely a favourite. I have been mesmerized by her capacity to unleash the evocative power of language through her neon installations. Cobo has published my interview with her, with the title: “Language Subverting Violence: Lani Maestro at Venice Biennale 2017”.
Here’s the link to the interview
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Here is my piece for CoBo on the Southeast Asian Pavilions at the Venice Biennale. This piece wasn’t easy to write and I have been quite critical – something I don’t usually like to be. But this Biennale really called for criticism, the way I see it.
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Naima Morelli is an arts writer and journalist specialized in contemporary art from Asia-Pacific and the MENA region.
She has written for the Financial Times, Al-Jazeera, The Art Newspaper, ArtAsiaPacific, Internazionale and Il Manifesto, among others, and she is a regular contributor to Plural Art Mag, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye as well as writing curatorial texts for galleries.
She is the author of three books on Southeast Asian contemporary art.
Reach out: contact [at] naimamorelli.com
