Review of ‘Veneer and Visage’ at Supper House
Esther Choy, Hafizah Jainal, Phua Juan Yong, Rachael Cheong, Samuel Xun, Y A
‘Veneer and Visage’ is an art and fashion exhibition staged at Supper House, an interdisciplinary space for creatives nestled in an industrial building on Tagore Lane in Singapore. Curated by Weiqin Chay, the exhibition seeks to explore “the ways identities are projected when (un)covering the facade of one’s appearance”¹. The exhibition’s premise is a topical one, as masking and concealing one’s face continues to be a mandatory safety measure in many places around the world. It is not uncommon for fashion exhibitions to respond to cultural events—galleries and museums have long drawn on historical events as points of curatorial germination. Most recently, the ICOM Costume Committee unveiled ‘Clothing the Pandemic’, a virtual exhibition of Covid-19 face masks curated by museums worldwide, including masks from the collections of Singapore’s Asian Civilisations Museum.
‘Veneer and Visage’ takes this timely—and now universal—act of masking, and extrapolates it by asking: what other ways do we veil ourselves, metaphorically or otherwise? Upon entry, one is greeted by what appears to be the wooden exteriors of a black box structure. This intervention forms a space within a space, and conveniently functions as an interesting subversion of the white cube. Ideas of protection, concealment and identities come into play through the works of two fashion designers, Esther Choy of Esh by Esther, and Rachael Cheong of Closet Children, and four artists, Hafizah Jainal, Y A, Phua Juan Yong and Samuel Xun. This multidisciplinary assembly of practitioners falls in step with the nature of Supper House. Envisioned as a crossroads for creatives to collaborate and create, the space has the potential to serve as a natural host to such an exhibition.
“Upon entry, one is greeted by what appears to be the wooden exteriors of a black box structure. This intervention forms a space within a space, and conveniently functions as an interesting subversion of the white cube.”
The dynamism between the artists and designers was fruitfully explored in the accompanying exhibition publication², where the curator paired them up to interview one another (Phua with Y A; Choy with Xun; and Cheong with Jainal). These pairings went beyond a juxtaposition of the formal elements of their works, and allowed for some insightful connections between their practices—how Choy and Xun, for instance, hailed from opposite paths from art to fashion and fashion to art respectively.
Yet this spirit of incidental yet meaningful dialogue between the works did not translate spatially. Walking through the exhibition, there were moments where I hoped to witness a stronger conversation between the works, and by extension, a stronger curatorial presence. In the exhibition, Choy’s knitted garment, ‘Un-Garde’ (2022), was located in a corner that preceded the entry to the venue’s black box; whilst Xun’s face-dress-turned-wall-art, ‘Maybe, Just Maybe’ (2022), was exhibited in the common area, beyond the confines of the black box. This is not to suggest that the placement of the works needed to mirror the pairings in the exhibition guide, but the possibility to dip in and out of the black box structure could have served as a compelling curatorial device.
Esther Choy, 'Un-Garde', 2022, yarn, organza, dimensions variable. Photo by Tonny Bui.
Samuel Xun, 'Maybe, Just Maybe', 2022, acrylic paint, glitter ribbon, felt, & interfacing on canvas, 90 x 92 x 3cm. Image courtesy of Supper House.
On the subject of space as a curatorial device, the bare bones of Supper House’s venue posed latent potential. It would have been fascinating to see the exhibition’s exploration of veneers translated into the physical experience, where perhaps the visitor’s movements determined what they got to see—or not see. In theatre, black boxes are usually used as minimal but versatile stages for performances. With such allusions to artifice, pretence, and posturing, encountering the works in ways that deliberately deceived or misled the visitor might have elevated the experience of the show. Despite the conceptual focus on visages, manifestations, and false appearances, most works were instead presented at face value. The only work that challenged the visitor in this way was Phua’s unassuming but haunting video installation, ‘The Digital Artist’. The work is a moving image, yet largely motionless, simulacrum of his studio, capturing everything from the transitions in daylight to a cropped view of his legs resting on a sofa.
“Despite the conceptual focus on visages, manifestations, and false appearances, most works were instead presented at face value.”
Phua Juan Yong, ‘The Digital Artist (detail)’, 2022, single-channel video installation, 6480 x 1920px, 30s loop. Photo by Weiqi Yap.
Rachael Cheong, 'The Iron Maiden', 2022, anodised aluminum, stainless steel, PVC, dimensions variable. Photo by Weiqi Yap.
While the other works were a joy to view and certainly evocative in their own right, the design of each encounter needed to be more precisely tailored to each artist in order for their impact to land. Cheong’s intricate chainmail lingerie set and face mask, ’The Iron Maiden’ (2022), warranted more than a draped table setting, and it felt like a missed opportunity to not place it in physical or curatorial proximity to Choy’s softer yet utility-driven ensemble, the only other garment-based work in the exhibition. The wax body forms that Cheong’s pieces were displayed on, however, were a particularly effective display choice—one that promised much more visual interest than a standard retail mannequin would have. The image-based works of Jainal (‘Nyai-Nyai Ayu’ (2022)) and Y A (‘An Everyday Thought’ (2020-21)), on the other hand, seemed to compete with the distractingly cosy, albeit unarguably stylish furnishings of Supper House.
Installation view of Hafizah Jainal’s 'Nyai-Nyai Ayu' (Pretty Grandmas), 2022, gouache on paper. Image courtesy of Supper House.
Installation view of Y A's ‘An Everyday Thought’ series, 2020-2021, archival print on Awagami bamboo paper, 336 x 420mm. Image courtesy of Supper House.
‘Veneer and Visage’ provides a fascinating opportunity to rethink the implications of veiling oneself through fashion and art. The exhibition was by no means a conventional one, and was bold in its combination of practitioners and disciplines in a venue that aptly champions multidisciplinary collaboration. While I anticipated to see a more sensitive response to the space and the works it contained, this was nonetheless a worthy curatorial venture for an opportune time.
Notes
“Multidisciplinary art and fashion exhibition explores the identities projected when (un)covering the facade of one’s appearance”. ‘Veneer and Visage’, 10 February 2022. Press release.
‘Veneer and Visage’ (2022). Exhibition publication. To access the publication, reach out to the curatorial team here.
‘Veneer and Visage’ was on view at Supper House, 222 Tagore Lane, 04-03 through 6 March 2022. Admission is free. More details here.