Indelible Marks, Opening reception at Art Seasons: Fri, 6 pm - 9 pm, 19 Sept 2025

Co-opening remarks by HE Allaster Cox (Australian High Commissioner to Singapore) and Dr Ryan Su (Art lawyer & collector), 7pm

Indelible Marks examines the impact of colonialism on Singapore’s cultural, social, and political identity. This joint international exhibition, marking Singapore's 60th anniversary of independence in 2025, brings together seven artists from Australia and Singapore, uniting Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives through collaboration, dialogue, and the shared exploration of British colonial histories. By including Australia’s First Nations artists — whose practices reflect resilience and adaptability — the exhibition encourages Singaporeans to confront their own colonial legacy and its ongoing effects. This allied effort challenges dominant colonial narratives and creates space for reflection, dialogue, and action.

Singapore’s reverence for its colonial past has long been a source of tension. Under British rule from the early 19th century until 1959, the city-state was transformed into a vital trading port of the British Empire. This period saw infrastructural growth and economic expansion, shaping modern Singapore in ways still visible today. Yet beneath this progress lay colonial policies that enforced racial segregation, exploited local labour, and erased pre-colonial cultures. The consequences of these systems persist, particularly for those whose histories have been overshadowed by narratives that celebrate the British colonial legacy.

One such narrative is the veneration of Stamford Raffles, often credited with founding Singapore. Monuments like the Raffles Landing Site and Raffles Hotel serve as reminders of a colonial past romanticised in national education and public commemorations. These figures and sites stand as symbols of a colonial legacy embraced as part of Singapore’s global identity, yet this selective memory overlooks the violence, exploitation, and displacement endured by pre-colonial communities.

The exhibition provides a platform for engagement and reflection, inviting audiences to interrogate their own relationship to the histories of colonisation. Themes of cultural adaptation, survival, and resistance emerge as the artists respond to both personal and collective experiences, exploring the intersections of identity, memory, and colonial impact. Through diverse artistic practices, the works create a vibrant, multilayered discourse confronting the complexities of postcolonial identity.

As Singapore celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence, this alliance of Australian First Nations and Singaporean artists calls for ongoing dialogue. It asks viewers to reconsider the weight of history, the role of memory in shaping national identity, and the importance of resisting historical erasure. The marks of the past remain indelible, but the futures they shape can still be reimagined through collective, creative action.

*Co-organised by Tyrown Waigana (Indigenous Australian), Desmond Mah (Singaporean-Australian), Nazerul Ben-Dzulkefli (Singaporean-Australian)

*Please rsvp here to attend the exhibition opening. Please bear in mind that the exhibition opens on Fri 19 Sept 2025, 6pm at Art Seasons Gallery and the panel discussion takes place at Comma Space, Sat, 2.30 pm, 20 Sept 2025, rsvp here . Two different venues. Thanks.