I can’t believe we’ve gone three weeks with no-one doing a specific post about the Singapore Biennale!

I was planning a proper opinion column, but after blowing the lid off a case of censorship there (without checking with the curators, as I should’ve), I figure I’d better wait a while before stirring up more trouble.

So let’s bask in the glory of the good ol’ days, namely last month, 11 to 13 March, when the Singapore Biennale had just opened to a few select guests (actually, they kind of let anyone in) for its Vernissage.

Here’s the opening ceremony! (For those of you not in the know, “Vernissage” comes from the French word for “varnishing”, ‘cos in the old days VIPs would be allowed in to view the work while painters were still varnishing their canvases.

Visitors may be grumbling about lack of air-conditioning and difficulty of access, but I really do think Kallang Airport is a beautiful site.

Press conference in the morning in the main arrival hall.

In the background is Michael Beutler’s “Double Up”, which I do not think is very beautiful.

The same cannot be said of Beutler’s handsome assistant, whose name I forget.  He’s on the right.  Matthew Ngui, on the left, is also rather pleasant to look at.

Let’s have a look at some of the other exhibits.

Here’s Michael Lee with his “Office Orchitect”, which is one of the best artworks on the site.  (I’ve just interviewed him for a Fridae article.  Stay tuned.)

Elmgreen & Dragset’s “German Barn” installation is in the hangar.  Quite a spectacle.  Here is the church…

… and here is the steeple.

Open the doors…

… and see all the people!

(The Singaporean actors dressed in delightfully skimpy dirndls won’t be there every day.  But do catch them if you can.)

One of the cool things about the Vernissage really is the rawness.  Look at the makeshift caption for Mike Nelson’s work!

… which is actually quite fitting, given the nature of his installation. (It’s made from walls of the Hayward Gallery which he personally destroyed.)

I’ll have more images of other sites during the Vernissage coming up.

Till then, toodle-oo!  I’m rushing off for the Liu Kang talk at SPH.