The Chua Ek Kay exhibition, A Long Way from Home / 近觀遠濤 is now on at the de Suantio Gallery, SMU School of Social Sciences. The exhibition is unique because apart from its curator, Wang Zi Neng, a group of 30 students from SMU-X course on ‘Arts and Culture Management – Exhibitions and Curating’, led by SMU Associate Professor of Arts and Culture Management (Practice) Kwok Kian Chow, were also involved in the planning, showcase and book publication of the exhibition. Assoc Prof Kwok commented that the Chinese title of the exhibition pays homage to the 17th century art theorist and painter Shitao whom Chua Ek Kay admired. “Chua’s art attempted to evoke an earlier aesthetic ideal, bypassing modernity yet remaining fiercely experimental, seeking always to close his distance to ‘home’ without becoming paradoxically trapped in a distant past. In doing so, he attempts not to be restricted by past irony, bringing him closer to ‘home’.” The exhibition’s English name – A Long Way From Home – which evokes the multi-faceted and contradictory dimensions of ‘home’, was suggested by an SMU student.
Source
Lianhe Zaobao