Construction in Every Corner explores the experience of existing amidst perpetual renewal

6 JAN 2025 – NTU Museum is proud to present Construction in Every Corner, an exhibition exploring the complex and often overlooked world of urban construction. In a city where the rhythm of progress seems to be marked by perpetual noise, dust, and disruption, this exhibition asks: Are these construction projects truly just a necessary inconvenience? Or do they offer more – hidden stories, untold narratives, and unexplored spaces?

Construction in Every Corner offers a reflective platform on this debate. At NTU, three new MRT stations are under construction, set for completion in 2029, long after most current students have graduated. The NTU Museum has invited three sets of NTU-trained artists – a solo alumnus, a duo of alumni, and a graduate student – to explore the experience of existing amongst perpetual construction work. Their works examine liminal spaces, human connection, and the representation of nature amid Singapore's constant self-renewal. Through installations featuring photography, video, construction hoarding, virtual reality, and drawing, the artists question whether a singular view of urban life can exist and ponder the significance of urban redevelopment on individuals and communities.

This exhibition nudges viewers to treat in-between spaces with curiosity, not just as sites to put up with or to exploit. Through cataloguing, storytelling, and commentary, the works in Construction in Every Corner position transitional spaces as sites for our own transformation. In different ways, the artists lead viewers on personal journeys through both the changing, physical city and the cities evolving within us.

A creative examination of urban transformation and its impact

Further Reading by Marvin Tang - Construction in Every Corner

Marvin Tang

Further Reading investigates how urban construction shapes our encounters with nature, by examining the industry practice of featuring greenery images on construction hoardings. Tang presents photos and videos amidst an installation akin to a deconstructed construction site, aiming to “lift the veil” that construction hoardings serve. This invites viewers to observe and question the often-hidden processes behind these practices.

 

 

Wastelands by Debbie Ding - Construction in Every Corner

Debbie Ding

Debbie Ding focuses on the titular wastelands—vacant plots awaiting development. Devoid of human presence, these spaces hold untapped narrative potential for Ding, who catalogues elements found on these plots, such as hand-drawn plants, to capture their “uncurated” quality. She then presents her finds in a multimedia work that includes a video game for viewers to explore. Her work invites us to see such empty landscapes not just as mere spaces in transition, but as places with untold stories.

 

 

A Walk in the Park by Sarah Choo Jing and Mathias Choo - Construction in Every Corner

Sarah and Mathias Choo

In the video installation, A Walk in the Park, siblings Sarah Choo and Mathias Choo present one beach park in Singapore, a liminal space between land and sea, where solitudes exist in a shared environment. Like Tang’s, their work draws on construction aesthetics, but with a focus on the fragility of social constructs. By alluding to the hidden thoughts and inner lives of strangers, they challenge the ideals of transparency and enforced unity, highlighting the power of respectful silence.

 

 

 

Learn more about Construction in Every Corner exhibition
Construction in Every Corner presented by NTU Museum
Construction in Every Corner artists: Marvin Tang, Debbie Ding and Sarah Choo