Synopsis:

ShanghART Singapore is pleased to present a solo exhibition Timoribus by renowned performance artist Melati Suryodarmo. It is an inaugural comprehensive exhibition in Singapore, will showcase Melati's multidisciplinary approach to art, consisting of a variety of works ranging from photography, videography, to what she is best known for – durational performance. The exhibition opens on Thursday, 25 January 2018 and runs through 25 March 2018, with an accompanying live performance by the artist on 25 and 26 January 2018.

"Timoribus" is a Latin term meaning "fear." In Melati's works, body functions as a container of memories and emotions, while the feeling of fear she expressed is often deeply intertwined with human instinct, desire and individual deliberation. Fear stems from the defense mechanisms of the body, as well as the sense of disillusionment with the pursuit of ultimate perfection and immortality. Through her highly physical and often humorously absurd performances, Melati probes to the relationship between the feeling of fear and everyday life, personal experience, political discourse and the mass media.

The title piece Timoribus, is a video installation art work directed by the artist inspired by the recent state of affairs. By tracing back to the history of performance art and experimental video, this work examines the politicized characteristics of artists in Europe during the 1960s and 1970s. To date the world is surrounded by terror and fear of terror at varying scales, from rodent infestation to fatal bombings, which has been given the global context of fear. Even if fear is non-existent, people have found ways to invent its presence in everyday life by the need for security, posterity and preservation, and been pushing to develop technology and innovation all the time. As images production and reproduction gets clearer and faster, the irony is that the speed of how those images are absorbed by the brain confuses it, creating a blur in the mind. The world is clear but the mind is convoluted; all the while fear continues to play a growing part in this post-truth world, shaping our experiences and reality.