Moses Tan acquired by Singapore Art Museum

26 Apr 2024

Singapore Art Museum has acquired Moses Tan’s immersive installation, ‘a caveat, a score’.

Multi-layered and tongue-in-cheek, ‘a caveat, a score’ invites viewers to explore the complexities of identity and queerness through a wide (dis)array of references and symbols. The work comprises found objects and furniture, photographic prints, drawings, video and polymer clay sculptures fashioned after botanical and zoological forms, which come together as an installation reminiscent of a set design.

The word “caveat” is an explanation or cautionary detail meant to prevent misinterpretation and symbolises the challenges queer individuals often face when navigating their identities and visibility in unloving environments. Tan translates the ebb and flow of waves into a dance score for humans, creating performative gestures that evoke emotional responses such as folding inwards as a protective act or opening up towards gestures of care.

Image: installation view of ‘a caveat, a score’, 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Singapore Art Museum.