Saffron Songs

Wei-Ling Gallery is pleased to announce our next exhibition, ‘Saffron Songs’ by renowned London based Malaysian artist Rajinder Singh.

In ‘Saffron Songs’, Rajinder pays attention to the qualities of active citizenship through its connection to the sonic substance and materiality of a specially commissioned Punjabi folk song (lok git), a paean to his long dead grandfather. In his new paintings Rajinder creates large ‘scores’ to allude to a ‘space of refusal’ that his grandfather carved into his existence amidst the conflict and colonisation that took place around him in pre independence Malaya. Using sound to open up a field of transaction, Rajinder hopes to build a bridge in time to learn from his grandfather and usher in the fugitive moments of his past into the turmoil of race relations that is present day Malaysia.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Rajinder Singh (b Ipoh, Malaysia) is an artist researcher working from his studios in Dublin and London. Rajinder’s paintings and installations as well as photography, video and performance work explore ideas around the vulnerable body and its pain, interrogating the economies of power that deny it space and shape. Often focused on the power of ritual action in the construction of the social body, his practice explores the ways the human body unfolds around various topographic and symbolic borders.

Rajinder Singh’s last solo exhibition with the Gallery, ‘Cage of Deliverance’ was held in 2016, a body of work deeply-rooted in the artist’s intrigue with the gestures, movements and rhythms of ritual practices in South Asia and the scarred fragmented bodies as well as the healing, embracing unities they produce Much like his first solo exhibition with the Gallery “…the ceiling floats away with a sigh..” in 2014, Rajinder based his works on the notion of spaces that distend from apertures and portals. Spaces such as the shrine, the temple, the prayer mat are all located in the real world but are in some inexplicable manner connected to another distant and unmapped sphere.

Rajinder graduated with a PhD in Engineering (UK) in 1993 and a Master’s in Fine Arts (Singapore) in 2010. He was recently shortlisted for both the prestigious Golden Fleece Award and EVA International Biennale 2022. He was part of Tulca Festival of Arts in 2020 as well as Tulca 2019 and is the recipient of several awards for his sculptures and movement based work. His sculptures were shown as part of the year-long exhibition ‘Narrow Gate’ at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in 2021/22. Rajinder Is a recipient of substantial bursaries for his body based movement oriented work from the Arts Council of Ireland. He has been commissioned for new work by various museums and art festivals in Ireland. Rajinder teaches as a guest artist/choreographer at the Irish World Academy, Maynooth University, University College Dublin. His work is part of the national arts collections in both IMMA and the Arts Council of Ireland. Rajinder is the founder of the contemporary art review magazine Drenched Reviews

‘Saffron Songs’ is featured at Wei-Ling Gallery from 18th August – 10th September 2022.

Wei-Ling Gallery is located at No 8, Jalan Scott, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Admission hours are Tuesday – Friday 10am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm.

Exhibition is open by appointment only. For appointments and further assistance, please contact +60322601106 or e-mail siewboon@weiling-gallery.com