This January, The Private Museum (TPM) Singapore presents I am a CON artist: Continuous Contemplations of Justin Lee. The exhibition is a special collaboration between artist, collector and space, locating itself in two spaces with a main exhibition and special showcase happening in conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2021.
Alongside a selection of past works from The Teng Collection, a new body of works will also be exhibited, building upon Justin Lee’s continuous contemplations on his identity as an artist and member of civil society.
Justin employs visual and cultural references to provide social commentary on the perennial issues of consumerism and individualism, which in today’s digital age of instant gratifications and everyday glorifications become exponentially magnified.
Composed of paintings, text-based artefacts, performance and interactive art installation, the exhibition confronts its audience not only with the ceaseless forces of rapid globalisation and hyper digitalisation, but also challenges them to examine their individual complicity in glorifying and immortalising one’s self in the everyday.
Through this special collaboration, TPM expands beyond its scope as a home for private collectors by merging its artist and collector platforms to present the interconnectedness and intimate relationships that form between artists, collectors, art spaces, and their audiences.
In addition, a special showcase running from 19th to 25th January will runs at 222 Arts Club, featuring Justin Lee’s monumental installations from The Teng Collection that reflects the artist’s expanding oeuvre that explores the themes of identity and socio-cultural norms in Singapore across a variety of mediums.
Justin Lee’s practice explores the everyday life of Singapore society and its people, and his works often reflect a visual blend of east and west cultures. Believing that art plays an important role in helping people grow and become more aware of the pervasiveness of encroaching ideas that may threaten our heritage and identity, he has recorded, documented, and presented on themes such as globalisation, individualism, consumerism, allowing his audience to question how texts and images constructed and manufactured by mass media (i.e. signages, billboards, consumer products) control our thoughts and expression.
I Am A Con Artist once again proves the advantages The Private Museum has by going private – to showcase exhibitions and work that dares go against the grain and pushes at boundaries, and Justin Lee’s work at the very least, is sure to make you smile, if not think harder about the intersections between pop culture and culture.
I Am A Con Artist runs from 19th January to 21st March 2021 at The Private Museum. More information available here
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