ART SG returns this year. As the leading art fair in Southeast Asia, it is a dynamic platform to showcase visionary and exciting contemporary art from regional and global sphere.
Launched in 2023, the art exhibition is slated to hold its third edition from January 17 to 19 this year. The international art fair will take place at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
The 2025 programme will feature 106 galleries from 30 countries and territories, four large-scale, site-specific artworks in PLATFORM, a FILM programme presented in collaboration with Bangkok Kunsthalle, and a TALKS programme with prominent art world thought leaders, including Collecting as Practice curated by Aaron Cezar of the Delfina Foundation, and solo artist talks by Mandy El-Sayegh and Korakrit Arunanondchai.
However, among the exciting leads and programmes, Sarawakian Marcos Kueh makes his second time appearance in ART SG. Last year, the 28-year-old showcased his work — ‘Woven Billboards: Nenek Moyan’ from his ‘Kenyalang Circus 2023’ series.
This year, Kueh will be presenting a solo booth under ‘The Back Room KL’ in the FOCUS section of the exhibition.
Showcasing seven artworks from four distinct series, spanning works made between 2022 to 2024, Kueh will be displaying:
‘Expecting’ (2023) an immersive, four-panel installation; ‘Thread in Loving Mother’s Hands’ (2022), a large piece inspired by a traditional Chinese poem; ‘Hunger’ (2022) a single, long banner piece inspired by the ‘Hungry Ghost Festival; and ‘Four Seasons of Separation’ (2024), a four pieces themed around marriage and the four seasons.
According to a statement released by The Back Room KL on its Facebook page, the central themes that connect all four artwork series are the themes of motherhood and fulfilling (or failing to fulfil) parental expectations.
Having moved to the Netherlands in 2018 where he is based, Kueh has always been battling with familial expectations and Chinese filial customs, especially concerning marriage and children.
Recently, Sarawak Tribune reached out to Kueh, whose Instagram handle is @marcoslah, to share more about his display and the meaning behind each artworks.
How has your artistic journey evolved since your participation in the Textile Biennale in 2023?
Kueh: The Textile Biennale was one of the first platforms in which I got to establish myself as an artist locally in the Netherlands where I graduated. Since then, I have had the opportunity to share work around the world, from New York to Paris to Singapore and beyond.
Travelling around not only allows me to practise managing a career as an artist with all the complexities and nuances within the ecosystem of the art industry, it has also allowed me to access so many amazing works from amazing colleagues around the world where I got to exchange dialogues and ponder upon different ways of seeing and thinking about the world.
Artistically with all the access, it has made me reflect on the meanings of my projects based on the locations and the cultural context of the public.
What does it mean for you as a Malaysian and Bornean artist to showcase your work at ART SG 2025?
I think it is always exciting to be able to visit the art fairs in this region and see what everyone else is pondering about in the region. I am looking forward to sharing projects that I find meaningful as a person that is culturally tied to Malaysia. To share the stage with other colleagues, seniors and idols who put their hearts into making great works of art because of something they care deeply for in this world is meaningful for me.
Your 2024 presentation included works like “Woven Billboards: Nenek Moyang.” Can you share more about your 2025 pieces, how they are different from 2024 and how you have evolved from previous works.
2024 was my debut as a professional artist in a professional art fair in South East Asia and I was very literal with my approach — go big or go home. I was very glad that my deep pride of being from Borneo translated well to the public and media.
For the upcoming show in 2025, I have decided to go on a more retrospective route into topics about family expectations, being born Chinese-Malaysian. I don’t know if this is an evolution from the previous works, but there are so many aspects of being human in the history of my living experience that I find meaningful. If I manage to translate all these emotions that I feel about life into works of art, be it about pride or grief, so that others can sit with me and ponder, then I would have done my job.
Your 2025 exhibition touches on motherhood and fulfilling parental expectations. Can you share some instances when you were pushed to that spectrum?
I have been thinking more about the expectations of my parents for the past few years probably because of our ages and the geographical distance with them. My parents recently hit the age of retirement and I have just realised that it has been 12 years since I left Kuching to pursue my career.
In between that space where I could have spent more time with my parents, I think about what they would have wanted me to do instead and the many things that we never really had the time to talk about. I think the moment where it really hit me was when my mom saw advertisements for cremation while scrolling through Facebook and was having a conversation with my dad about it while I was in the same room with them.
How does your family feel about your artwork?
Specifically for the artworks that I am going to show in ARTSG, I have never planned to show them or discuss them with my parents. Just like many Chinese families, we are not very good at conversing with each other but are better with acts of service. Most of the time, it is hard to pinpoint how we are feeling about specific issues but the generosity of giving each other that space works for us. The baseline is that we all have the best interest for each other.
How do your cultural background and experiences influence your artworks, particularly your 2025 exhibition?
The collections I am sharing with the public for ARTSG 2025 are imaginations of what loving my parents mean as a Chinese son who chose to travel far away from his parents to chase his career and the many attempts to make peace with the responsibilities and expectations that could not be fulfilled because of the distance.
I think beyond what is spoken, why I am also passionate about my career is that I have been able to express my emotions and thoughts through alternative forms such as the art presentations that I am involved in.
Could you elaborate on how you incorporate modern techniques or perspectives into your textile art?
I am a textile developer specialised in industrial weaving. In the Netherlands, I was trained to programme files for industrial weaving machines in textile factories. I think when people exclusively link weaving with being traditional, they forget to notice that a large portion of what we interact with day to day, from our clothes, to our curtains, to our car seats… are mostly
industrially woven. I think the industry for these types of work is vast and the potential is endless. As a contemporary weaver, it is my medium of choice on how I want to encapsulate the modern day stories I find important for the next generation.
Can you share, if any, your future artworks that have not been showcased?
I am getting more and more site specific commissions from different locations in the world and that is very exciting for me. I started my career sharing stories about the things I find emotional about and I am honoured that the industry has trusted me enough to allow me to look for meaningful stories around the world, for me to work on and share with the world.
I don’t have big vision for my career at the moment. I am just looking forward to the next project from where I am now and giving all my best to make it a success. The next big plan will come naturally after this current plan I am working on is done.
