‘Where Ink Tides Meet’ debuts the Dalam Collection series with over 50 rarely seen works tracing the evolution of ink across Southeast Asia.
SINGAPORE, 2 June 2025 – This June, uncover a new dimension of ink with the debut show of National Gallery Singapore’s new exhibition series, Dalam Collection. Running from 6 June to 16 November 2025, Where Ink Tides Meet showcases over 50 works from the National Collection – a large majority of which are on public view for the first time. The exhibition includes captivating ink works by key figures across the region, such as Chen Wen Hsi, Guan Shanyue, Hong Zhu An, Latiff Mohidin, Liu Kang and Nena Saguil.
Taking its name from the Malay word dalam, meaning “inside” or “deep within,” Dalam Collection builds on the curatorial experimentation of its predecessor, Dalam Southeast Asia. This series invites visitors to examine how collections are formed, interpreted, and experienced. Each installment, presented whenever a new facet of the Gallery’s Collection emerges, showcases recent acquisitions and curatorial research to reveal lesser-known connections across time and place, recasting familiar narratives and uncovering new ones, with dialogues between the art of Singapore, Southeast Asia, and the world as a focal point.
Where Ink Tides Meet kickstarts the series with a focus on ink, building on the Gallery’s ongoing research on this versatile medium. It positions Singapore as a critical place where ink traditions have met, evolved, and converged through artists who reimagined the medium across generations, geographies, and cultural traditions. The exhibition expands the understanding of ink beyond its classical forms, inviting visitors to explore how the medium has been reinterpreted through modern sensibilities, cross-cultural encounters, and experimental techniques.
“Dalam Collection reflects a fundamental shift in how we share our collection with the public. By revealing greater insights into our acquisition and curatorial processes, we invite visitors to witness how the Gallery builds meaningful connections between Singapore, Southeast Asia, and global art histories,” says Dr. Patrick Flores, Chief Curator, National Gallery Singapore. “It is only intuitive that we begin the series with an exploration of ink practices, drawing from our extensive research on the dynamism of this medium across Southeast Asia. We hope visitors to Where Ink Tides Meet will come away with a deeper appreciation of the artistic innovation inherent in ink practices and the thoughtful processes through which our National Collection is shaped and presented.”
Organised into three curatorial sections – Revival, Encounter, and Nexus – Where Ink Tides Meet charts how generations of artists have challenged, transformed, and reimagined ink beyond traditional forms. Revival invites audiences to explore recurrent returns to cultural origins through the timeless medium of ink painting. The section sheds a metaphorical and literal light on these artists and artworks, where it not only gives the artists due recognition for their efforts and contributions to ink, but also marks the first time many of these artworks are being publicly shown For instance, artists like Khoo Seok Wan, upheld literati ideals and helped sustain ink as a shared cultural practice; and artists like Liu Kang and Chen Chong Swee incorporated reformist ideas in ink painting which they were introduced to while they were studying at Shanghai’s Xinhua Academy of Art. Visitors can explore how each of the works in Revival reflects the artists’ hopes of revitalising the ink medium through their practices.
Encounter explores the artistic exchanges that evolved when people, ideas, and traditions came into contact and networks among artists and collectors in the region were cultivated in the process. Singapore’s dynamic role as a vibrant meeting point is reflected not only in the artworks themselves, but also in the stories they carry—from artist networks and regional exhibitions to the generosity of collectors who helped circulate these works across borders. Visitors will encounter artworks such as Guan Shanyue’s [Not titled] (An Indian Lady and Tropical Trees) (1947) dedicated to the Society of Chinese Artists, which speak to moments of curiosity, connection, and reinterpretation. These pieces offer insight into how these artists responded to new environments and influences, showcasing how the exchange of ideas has continually refreshed the ink medium.
Nexus brings the exhibition to a close with a look at ink’s continuous adaptation and reinvention. In this section, visitors will encounter bold, unexpected approaches that stretch the medium beyond its traditional boundaries through unconventional materials, abstract forms, and experimental techniques. From layered paper pulp and pigment washes to minimalist gestures and conceptual imagery, these works challenge the conventional understanding of the aesthetics of ink and the ideas, emotions, and narratives it can convey. Just as earlier generations adapted ink to new contexts, artists continue that impulse, drawing from diverse influences to create hybrid forms that can be both rooted and radically new. Through this, Nexus invites visitors to rethink familiar notions of ink and to see how the medium remains open, evolving, and deeply connected to the cultural dynamism of Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Dalam Collection: Where Ink Tides Meet runs from 6 June to 16 November 2025 at the Ngee Ann Kongsi Concourse Gallery. Entry is free for all.
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