Art exhibitions as scrapbooks of life

Before the Singapore Biennale takes over in two weeks, here are three free art exhibitions that you should whet your appetite with this month.

North of the DMZ offers a no holds barred twist on intimate real life situations and events in the world’s most reclusive state, North Korea.

All the images were taken by local photojournalist Wong Maye-E, who has been The Associated Press’ lead photographer in North Korea since 2014.

Her collection of images from her assignment in North Korea since 2013 ranges from photographs of women participating in the Arirang Mass Games to women in a textile factory spending their downtime in a sauna.

Situated at the Objectifs Centre for Photography & Filmmaking, her 60 photos will be on exhibition till Oct 15.

Under the Art Porters gallery, Meows in Museum! is a light-hearted exhibition which features 20 limited edition mixed media creations by Saint Petersburg artist, producer and curator Svetlana Petrova.

The cat in all the pieces was her mother’s cat, Zarathustra, which Svetlana adopted when her mother passed away in 2008.

Besides offering humorous takes on famous masterpieces, Svetlana also makes use of lenticular printing, which creates an illusion of depth, to give another dimension to her art.

Running till Oct 30 at The Fullerton Hotel‘s East Garden Foyer, 10 per cent of sales from these commissioned pieces will go to the Cat Welfare Society.

If you’re a sucker for striking neons and fluorescent colours (like me), this exhibition is for you.

Paper – Sight is Japanese artist, Shinro Ohtake’s first solo exhibition and showcases 30 paper pulp paintings which often make use of scraps from discarded urban culture and mass media.

The exhibition is held in conjunction with SJ50 and commemorates the 50th anniversary of Singapore-Japan diplomatic relations.

Using an unapologetic neon yellow in his pieces, which references uranium and radiation, Shinro manages to communicate his own preoccupation with a sense of life’s transience following the March 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and Fukushima disasters.

Running till Nov 5 at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI) Creative Workshop and Gallery, Shinro’s bright and lively exhibition will leave you enthralled and lost in a world of swirling colours.