GROUP EXHIBITION

Tropic of Perception explores the shifting nature of perception—how environments, histories, and sensorial experiences shape the way we see and understand the world. The exhibition considers how states of flux, transition, and transformation impact memory, identity, and knowledge production. Through a variety of media, the artists in this exhibition engage with questions of materiality, temporality, and the slippages between the real and the imagined.

Bringing together artists who work across different registers of materiality, temporality, and mediated experience, Tropic of Perception blurs boundaries between presence and absence, visibility and obscurity, certainty and ambiguity. It considers perception as a dynamic, ever-evolving landscape—one that is not fixed but in constant motion, where meaning is formed in the act of seeing and re-seeing.

About the Artists****

Korakrit Arunanondchai (b. 1986, Thailand) is an artist and filmmaker whoseinterdisciplinary practice bridges painting, video, performance, and installation. Drawing from history, spirituality, pop culture, and personal biography, his work creates expansive cosmologies that reflect on the interconnectedness of life in a globalised world. Based between Bangkok and New York, Arunanondchai is known for constructing immersive environments that weave together disparate temporalities, mythologies, and political realities. His projects often blur the boundaries between fiction and documentary, offering alternative frameworks for understanding the complexities of contemporary existence. His work has been widely exhibited at leading institutions and biennials internationally.

A leading figure in Indonesian contemporary art, FX Harsono’s (b. 1949, Indonesia) practice spans drawing, installation, performance, and video. For over five decades, Harsono has engaged with issues of social justice, memory, and the politics of identity, particularly in relation to Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese minority. His work often draws from personal and collective histories, foregrounding suppressed narratives within national discourse. In recent years, Harsono’s turn towards archival research and testimonial projects has deepened his longstanding commitment to art as a form of witness and resistance. His contributions have earned him wide recognition, with presentations at key regional and international platforms.

Singapore-based artist Kumari Nahappan (b. 1953, Malaysia) is celebrated for her distinctive practice that spans painting, sculpture, and large-scale public commissions. Drawing from Southeast Asian cultural motifs and spiritual traditions, her works investigate themes of nature, ritual, and transformation. Nahappan’s bold, organic forms — often rendered in luminous hues — resonate with symbolic meaning, reflecting her enduring interest in cycles of growth and regeneration. Notable projects such as Saga at Changi Airport and Nutmeg and Mace at ION Orchard have made her a key figure in shaping Singapore’s urban artistic landscape. Her practice continues to bridge contemporary art with cultural heritage.

Collaborating since the 1990s, Vong Phaophanit and Claire Oboussier (b. 1961, Laos; b.1963, UK) create installations, films, and public works that examine notions of language, memory, and migration. Their projects often emerge from long-term research and are characterised by a sensitivity to place and context, exploring how meaning is negotiated across cultures and geographies. Working across Europe, Asia, and beyond, their practice resists fixed interpretations, instead cultivating a poetics of displacement that resonates across multiple audiences. Their critically acclaimed works are held in major public collections and have been commissioned for significant international exhibitions and public spaces, including at the Tate (UK), National Gallery Singapore, Martin-Gropius-Bau (Germany), National Gallery of Canada, Reina Sofia Museum (Spain), Iziko National Gallery (South Africa), amongst others.

Chemi Rosado Seijo’s (b. 1973, Puerto Rico) practice embraces painting, installation, and community-based interventions, grounded in a commitment to social engagement and participatory art. Based in Puerto Rico, Rosado Seijo often collaborates with local communities to create projects that respond to specific sites, histories, and social contexts. His work challenges conventional notions of artistic authorship, seeking instead to foster collective agency and shared narratives. Playful yet critically attuned, his interventions offer nuanced reflections on issues ranging from urban development to cultural memory. Over the years, his projects have been recognised for their capacity to merge artistic experimentation with tangible social impact.

Pam Virada (b. 1993, Thailand) is a Bangkok-based artist whose multidisciplinary practice encompasses painting, installation, and moving image. Her work often explores the intersections between personal memory, collective identity, and the latent traces of political histories. Employing layered materials and atmospheric compositions, she creates meditative spaces that invite reflection on the impermanence of lived experience. Recent projects have seen her turn towards the porous boundaries between fact and fiction, adopting archival methods to interrogate how narratives are preserved and lost.