“Singapore Refracted”, presented by Alliance Française de Singapour, creates a quadralogue between four unique interpretations of the city – two Singaporean and two French –, each revealing a fragment of what makes Singapore unique when brought together. Like light passing through a prism, Singapore reveals different hues when filtered through each artist’s gaze.
What emerges is not a single portrait, but a constellation of perspectives that make this country both hypermodern and deeply rooted.
For May Oon, Singapore is a memory. Her paintings evoke the warm, unhurried atmosphere of the past. Through archival images and Peranakan motifs, she invites us to pause and perhaps remember.
As a contrast, Yen Phang sees structure where others see lush life and greenery. In his eyes, the organic world becomes geometry. His art reflects a city that organizes even nature, shaping it to fit within its design.
D’Gers reshapes the city as a dreamscape through collage and mixed media. She deconstructs shophouses, stacks motifs, and blends tradition with oneiric visions to colour fantasy with familiar hues.
Nicolas Damiens rewires time. With retro-futurist aesthetics, he projects Singapore both backward and forward. His chromatic worlds oscillate between yesterday’s aspirations and tomorrow’s silhouettes, revealing a temporal tension at the city’s core.
One city. Four lenses that refract Singapore into something kaleidoscopic: a place of contradictions and harmonies, of stillness and speed, where past, present, and imagined futures co-exist. An invitation not to look at the city — but to look through it.
From 6 September – until 27 September
Alliance Française de Singapour, Gallery, Level 2
Opening hours:
Tuesday to Friday: 1.00 pm – 7.30 pm
Saturday: 9.00 am – 6.00 pm
More info on the exhibition and free guided tour in EN and FR: https://alliancefrancaise.org.sg/web#id=5176&action=221&model=event.event&view_type=form&menu_id=158