“Sama Sama”, Whitestone Gallery, Singapore.
Curated by Dr. Wang Ruobing.
08.08.2025 - 05.10.2025
In celebration of SG60, Whitestone Gallery Singapore is honoured to present Sama Sama, a significant exhibition featuring 60 diverse artworks by 60 local contemporary artists and collectives. United through a spirit of artistic togetherness, Sama-Sama offers a collective reflection on Singapore’s evolving history and cultural journey.
“Sama Sama”, a term not unfamiliar to Singaporeans, means "all together" or "togetherness." ["Sama Sama" also means "You're welcome", and “same”.] By titling this exhibition “Sama Sama”, we invite a multidimensional engagement with art that revisits Singapore’s evolving history and cultural trajectory through the togetherness of local contemporary artists.
Featuring sixty works by local artists and collectives spanning generations — including Anthony Chin, Boedi Widjaja, Boo Sze Yang, Chow and Lin, Cynthia Delaney Suwito, Heman Chong, Ian Tee, Jackson Tan, Lai Yu Tong, Lee Wen, Milenko Prvački, Ng Hui Hsien, Post-Museum, Dr. S. Chandrasekaran, Sim Chi Yin, Zarina Muhammad and among others — the exhibition showcases a rich diversity of mediums, from film and installation to painting, photography, multimedia, printmaking, socially engaged practices, and performance. Their works explore a spectrum of themes, from ecology, technology, and global crises to society, politics and identity, reflecting the inclusive and multifaceted nature of contemporary art in Singapore. Together, these works embody the core values local artists uphold: freedom, diversity, imagination, creativity, inclusiveness, and resistance – values that resonate with the broader public.
The use of the vernacular term “Sama Sama” challenges conventional discourses on identity and culture, which are rarely linear but instead are constructed from the ground up, shaped through the aesthetic, poetic, political, social and emotional dimensions of art. This exhibition seeks to serve as a collective critical inquiry, using art as a medium to interrogate and reaffirm identity — one that is deeply rooted in history, actively engaged with the present, and continually shaping the future.
Artists:
Akai Chew, Aki Hassan, Anthony Chin, Arrvin Raj, Baet Yeok Kuan, Berny Tan, Boedi Widjaja, Boo Sze Yang, Chen Sai Hua Kuan, Cheo Chai Hiang, Chiew Sien Kuan, Chng Seok Tin, Chow and Lin, Chua Ek Kay, Cynthia Delaney Suwito, Daniel Chong, Ezekiel Wong Kel Win, Ezzam Rahman, Ge Xiaocong, Genevieve Chua, Gilles Massot, Goh Chun Aik, Green Zeng, Heman Chong, Ian Tee, Jackson Tan, Joanne Pang, Justin Lee, Ken Cheong, Koh Nguang How, Lai Yutong, Lee Wen, Marvin Tang, Michael Lee, Milenko Prvački, Moses Tan, Ng Hui Hsien, Ngiap Heng Tan, Ong Kian Peng, Post-Museum, Randy Chan, Ryan Lim Zi Yi, S. Chandrasekaran, Sebastian Mary Tay, Siew Guang Hong, Sim Chi Yin, Song-Ming Ang, Susanna Tan, Tang Ling Nah, Tay Bak Chiang, Tay Wei Leng, Teng Jee Hum (Ding Yifan), Urich Lau, Vincent Leow, Wang Ruobing, Woong Soak Teng, Yang Jie, Yeo Shih Yun, Zai Tang, Zarina Muhammad
Installation View: “The Poverty Line”
Photo Credits: Whitestone Gallery