Art at the Istana

Istana Garden

Artist: Sarkasi Said Tzee
          2017

          Dye and wax on drill cotton

          211.1 x 130.5 cm (each)

          Istana Art Collection

This abstract triptych features interlocking fields of vibrant colour that draw on motifs inspired by the lush flora of the Istana Garden. Sarkasi Said Tzee (b. 1940) is a leading artist, noted for his unconventional use of wax-resisting technique for batik painting. He learned about batik as a medium and technique through his extensive travels across Southeast Asia.

Transformation Series 2

Artist: Han Sai Por

          2009

          Stainless steel and textured green granite with sand-blasted finish

          253 x 253 x 73.5 cm

          Istana Art Collection

What are the consequences of substituting nature with artifice? Transformation Series 2 reflects on Singapore’s extensive built environment and its effects on native plants and wildlife. The carefully composed arrangement of fictional hybrid plants alludes to the introduction of foreign plants in the landscaping of our environs and signifies our estranged relationship with nature.

Han Sai Por (b. 1943) is an acclaimed sculptor, best known for her stone sculptures in organic forms. She received the Cultural Medallion Award for Visual Arts in 1995.

Thematic Balinese Painting for the Istana Stateroom

Artist: I Wayan Bendi

          2005

           Acrylic on canvas

           220 x 180.4 cm

           Istana Art Collection

This painting of daily life in Singapore was specially commissioned for the Istana. I Wayan Bendi (b. 1950) is known as the leading practitioner of the Batuan style of painting, which was developed in Bali in the 1930s.

This highly detailed and dense work is representative of Batuan style paintings, which intricately capture aspects of Balinese life from the rice harvest to masked theatre and temple ceremonies, combined with contemporary symbols that highlight how Balinese life is deeply interwoven with tourism economy. 

Here, I Wayan Bendi has distinguished the work by incorporating key icons of Singapore: Sir Stamford Raffles and The Merlion.

Image courtesy of National Heritage Board

Interplay Between Traditions and Contemporary Forms: #5 Water Containers

Artist: Iskandar Jalil

           2002

           Ceramics/stoneware with oxides/glazes

           52.1 x 26.1 x 9 cm

           Istana Art Collection

This work pays homage to the craft traditions of the region used to make everyday household objects. Here, a wooden ladle rests on a simple vessel form commonly used to hold water. The pieces are brought into dialogue with each other, and harmoniously balanced as a sculpture.

Iskandar Jalil (b. 1940) is recognised as one of the most established and prominent potters in Southeast Asia. He received the Cultural Medallion Award for Visual Arts in 1988.

Image courtesy of National Heritage Board

Moonlit Night in a HDB Estate

Artist: Ong Kim Seng

          1999

           Acrylic on canvas

           213.8 x 132.4 cm

           Istana Art Collection

This scene of Housing & Development (HDB) blocks highlights the geometric potential in familiar imagery. Here, panes of glass and hanging clothes take on the appearance of fluttering flags. This treatment transforms the ordinary and the banal into the dynamic and the iconographic.

Ong Kim Seng (b. 1945) is an eminent watercolour artist and received the Cultural Medallion for Visual Arts in 1990. Ong extends his creative sensibility using the medium of acrylic in this work.

Image courtesy of National Heritage Board