iNational Gallery SingaporeCivic District
Fear No Power: Women Imagining Otherwise
Five Southeast Asian artists, Amanda Heng, Dolorosa Sinaga, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Nirmala Dutt and Phaptawan Suwannakudt, examined through decades of personal and political art-making.
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Before you reach the doors, bronze women lean into each other in the Spine Hall, bodies angled as if pushing against a force. That is Dolorosa Sinaga's We Will Fight. Inside, past the gold leaf of Phaptawan Suwannakudt's new mural, Sinaga's Fear No Power shows a gagged woman before a wall, made to honour Indonesia's women political prisoners.
The show puts five Southeast Asian women side by side in Singapore for the first time: Sinaga, Suwannakudt, Amanda Heng, Imelda Cajipe Endaya and Nirmala Dutt. More than 45 works and over 110 archival items run through three zones, from bodies and family, to protest, to the collectives they ran. Writing in e-flux, Stephanie Bailey called Dutt's 1999 Self-Portrait "a devastating interrogation".
Give the archives and wall texts time: the Bakchormeeboy review found they are "not supplementary" to the story. Entry is free, in the Concourse Gallery on Level B1 of the City Hall Wing, until 15 November. Bring a jacket, as the Gallery warns some parts may be cold.
Editor's pick
Decades of personal and political work by five Southeast Asian artists: Amanda Heng, Dolorosa Sinaga, Imelda Cajipe Endaya, Nirmala Dutt and Phaptawan Suwannakudt. Free.
Look for
We Will Fight, Dolorosa Sinaga
Look for it in the Spine Hall outside the gallery doors: a bronze group of women leaning on one another, which e-flux described as a churning wave.
The Sun's Spell, Phaptawan Suwannakudt
A multi-panel mural commissioned for the anteroom, where gold leaf glints among lotus and gingko motifs, scaffolding, children and celestial figures.
Solidarity, Dolorosa Sinaga
Seven bronze women stand in a line like a wall, arms linked except for one raised fist, made in response to Indonesia's May 1998 Tragedy.
Anti-Nuclear Piece (Commemoration of Hiroshima Day), Nirmala Dutt
A two-metre red-scale canvas that casts Reagan and Gorbachev as wayang kulit shadow puppets.
Home Service, Amanda Heng and collaborators
For four months in 2003 Heng, Twardzik Ching Chor Leng and Vincent Twardzik Ching did housework in people's homes; the 27-minute video plays beside the aprons, flyers and name cards they made.
Good for
- Cheap Culture
- Nerding Out
- Rainy Days
Skip if
You want a quick look at paintings: much of the story sits in archives and wall texts.
With kids
The Gallery lists the show as suitable for all ages and entry is free. It publishes a learning resource for each of the five artists.
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Image credits
8
- Fear No Power: Women Imagining OtherwiseCourtesy of National Gallery Singapore
- Singapore Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2026Courtesy of Singapore Art Museum
- Maria Taniguchi: AfterimageCourtesy of Singapore Art Museum
- National Gallery SingaporeGordonMakryllos, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Asian Civilisations MuseumIrwan Shah Bin Abdullah, CC BY 3.0
- Children's Museum SingaporeElisa.rolle, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Peranakan MuseumGoAheadFan95 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- National Museum of SingaporeGordonMakryllos / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0