WORK NO.
ADM GALLERY 2024
Group Show
Group Show
“The Managed Heart:
Art and Emotional Labour”
visual art, installation
EXHIBITION VIEWS
①
“Assorted Hearts for Different Occasions”
2014 to present
Clay and Mix Media
“If one has lost their heart, how does one go about looking for it?” In his text on Angie Seah’s works, artist Ian Woo poses this question. Motifs like mouth, brain and heart feature in Seah’s works. For the artist, explorations of the anatomy is a way of reflecting on the human condition, and the “unexplainable absurdity of being human.” Assorted Hearts for Different Occasions is a series of three sculptures that was first presented
at Seah’s solo presentation In “Every Grain of Sand There is a World” at the Victoria College of Arts, Melbourne, in 2014, exploring the relationship between objects and the human psyche. For the present exhibition, Seah extended the seriespresenting a spectrum of attitudes one assumes as part of emotional labour.
②
“The Cup”
2017
Clay
Since 2017, Seah introduced art as a therapeutic element within her practice. Crafting instructional guides centered on everyday actions, her works during this period delve into the realm of self-help. They explore how regaining personal agency is possible through focused mindfulness. The Cup is one of such works, designed as a practice of letting go, of negativity. The work is part of Seah’s solo exhibition “We Will Live Forever” which served as her artistic gesture of offering reassurance and a poignant reminder of resilience during moments when the human spirit falters.
③
“I am a Plastic Soul”
Artist edition
2017
Video
7:05 min
④
“From Shadow to Shaman”
2021 – present
120 clay hammers, instructional text, spotlight
anGie seah explores drawing, sculpture, and sound-based performance in her practice. Intrigued by mysticism and sacred music, she delves into how rituals and enigma weave into our daily existence. Her work embraces spontaneity, using serendipity and intuition to guide emotional tones and psychological states. From Shadow to Shaman features numerous low-fired clay hammers and instructions-based text directing visitors to engage in a series of physical and vocal activities aimed at facilitating a cathartic release. These self-driven actions serve as awakenings, transforming ordinary objects into conduits for expressing our immediate experiences. A succession of vocal outcries and shouts symbolizes the artist's conviction in the power of one's voice to unearth something profound from within the depths of the body. This is the first time the work Is shown in Singapore, following its debut at the Asia Society Triennial in New York in 2021.
⑤
“life mOvements”
2019
Notes from Participatory Project
Seah incorporates participatory programmes as a core aspect of her work in community art. Within these projects, she intertwines a performative element, utilising sound and movement as mediums to inspire creativity among her audiences. life mOvements features a set of instructions by Seah in her workshops with senior participants, embodying a collaborative effort aimed at activating creativity through shared engagement and expression. The initial creation of “life mOvements” was commissioned by Both Sides, Now at Telok Blangah in 2019.
