Referenews

Collecting Bodies: A short story about art and nudities in Asia

This show of nudes, beautifully curated by Dr Yanyun Chen, is a follow-up to The Culture Story’s 2021 show, Of Human Bondage. While the latter featured works from gallery co-founder Chong Huai Seng’s collection, this new show is curated from 10 private collections, which means it is a rare opportunity to see works, some of which are on show for the first time. 

There are many standout pieces and Dr Chen has teased out intriguing connections between the works.

One display, for example, contrasts Singaporean pioneer artist Cheong Soo Pieng and Swiss artist Theo Meier’s traditional Balinese nudes against a striking contemporary piece by Pucuk Cemara, a Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts graduate of Balinese origin.

Pucuk depicts the mythical demon queen Rangda holding a weapon, a feminist response to the traditional male gaze presented by the two other painters. 

There is also a beautiful collection of ukiyo-e works, including shunga (spring pictures), which are erotic images, and export prints created for foreign consumption.

The most spectacular one is Tsukioka Yoshitoshi’s The Lonely House On Adachi Moor, showing the last great master of woodblock printing at his macabre best. The striking vertical composition is a Yoshitoshi signature.