Level 3, Gallery 4, SAM at Tanjong Pagar Distripark
General Admission (Free for Singaporeans and PRs)
SAMCollection: The Present is Unstable
SAMCollection: The Present Is Unstable considers the exhibition as something fluid and constantly changing. Works from the Collection will be brought in and out over time, placed in new relationships, and activated through talks, tours, and public programmes. There is no single theme here. Each time works is taken out of storage and put on display, they tell a different story and each configuration tests a different question. They may reveal concerns that were not visible before and connect older questions to present-day struggles, helping us understand what kind of world we are living in now. In whichever configuration you encounter the Collection, it asks that we begin with one question: what is the work trying to say, and how might it matter today?
Hero banner: Hao Jingban, I Witness, 2025. Courtesy of artist and Blindspot Gallery.
Mobile banner: Nadiah Bamadhaj, Casting Spells for the Movement, 2021, installation view, Jakarta Biennale 2021, Galeri Nasional, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Image courtesy of the artist. Photo by Yudha Kusuma Putera, MES 56.
Thumbnail: Jason Wee, Labyrinths, 2017, galvanised steel, dimensions variable. Image courtesy of the artist and Ames Yavuz.
related events
check out the line-up of free and ticketed events below!
GUIDED TOUR
Curator Tour
Ever wondered how an exhibition comes to life, or how art helps us make sense of memory, identity, and change? Join the curators of The Present Is Unstable for an insider’s walkthrough of our latest Collection Show.
Meeting point: Level 3, Gallery 4
Free, by registration (Admission fees to the exhibition apply)
• Sat, 3 Oct | 3.30pm - 4.30pm | Register here
To mark the opening of SAMCollection: The Present is Unstable, Hao Jingban (Artist) will be in conversation with Han Nefkens (Founder of the Han Nefkens Foundation) and Shabbir Hussain Mustafa (Chief Curator at Singapore Art Museum), moderated by Elaine W. Ng (Editor and Publisher of ArtAsiaPacific).
See things from a different angle. This lenticular magnet brings SAMCollection: The Present is Unstable to life, shifting between perspectives as you move it.
Marbled Charcoal Face & Body Soap Bar
Price: $20
Eczema-friendly. Produced in Singapore by my naked bar
Weight: 90g
Taking its cue from Gary-Ross Pastrana’s Water Cuts (stone), this marbled charcoal soap bar plays with the idea of material transformed by water. Watch it shift, soften and slowly disappear with every wash—art that’s made to be used.
Exhibition T-Shirt – 250gsm Black T-shirt with Silver Print
Price: $32
Available in 3 sizes: M, L, XL
The present is unstable, or is the unstable present? Playing with the title of SAMCollection: The Present is Unstable, this T-shirt captures the idea of a present that is always shifting.
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