Pham Ngoc Duong – Maggots at Singapore Biennial 2008

Hanoi artist in Singapore City Hall

This installation by Hanoi artist Pham Ngoc Duong, simply titled Maggots, weaves its way up the stairs and into City Hall’s former restaurant. Maggots in a restaurant whose halls were graced by top lawyers and judges? Previously unheard of!

Following is an excerpt from The Singapore Biennale 2008 launched over a week ago. You’re probably WONDERing what all the fuss is about, so in this article, we will give you a sneak peek at the exhibits worth taking a look at.

The Biennale this year is spread across three main venues, City Hall (the old Supreme Court), South Beach Development, and the Central Promontory Site (Marina Boulevard). The buildings represent, according to SB2008 artistic director Fumio Nanjo, the “past, present and future of Singapore”.

This week, we give you a peek at what City Hall has to offer. (Read the full article.)

CITY HALL

… As you carry on up the red carpet, and up the stairs, an army of – brace yourself – giant maggots will greet you! Each maggot is the size of a toddler, and they each have unique facial expressions.

This installation by Pham Ngoc Duong, simply titled Maggots, weaves its way up the stairs and into City Hall’s former restaurant. Maggots in a restaurant whose halls were graced by top lawyers and judges? Previously unheard of! Such is the stuff of Singapore Biennale, and you are just getting started!

The maggots writhe their way down the middle of the restaurant, leading up to a showcase – the old drink bar, I imagine – where green ghoulish faces are suspended in large beakers. Upon closer inspection, they are pale green gourds, and their dried, brown counterparts are lying on shelves. They are the fruit of Han Jong-Gun’s yearlong labour. The Korean artist painstakingly planted and nurtured the gourds plants, and massaged each gourd with his hands everyday so that they would resemble human faces in all sorts of expressions, from shock to sadness to happiness. The gourds are Han’s statement against the increasingly competitive and fast-paced modern lifestyles…