“but I flew over the sea…”

Held in conjunction with the ongoing exhibition, prep-room: the hull and the rig, NUS Museum presents Grounded Conversations: crossing the seas, a conversation between artist Fajrina Razak and curatorial lead Siddharta Perez.

crossing the seas delves into new works developed during Fajrina’s residency in the Philippines, supported by the National Arts Council Singapore. This instalment of Grounded Conversations explores diverse relationships of belonging that transcend national identity, inviting contemplation on the concept of Nusantara and the interconnections between the Philippines and its broader regional context. Drawing upon Fajrina’s experiences and critical inquiries throughout her residency, crossing the seas illuminates how the textile traditions, living archives of healing and ethnoecological practices she encountered in the Philippines intersect with her batik-making practice.

Presenting a series of distinct projects on how art practitioners have begun to adopt comprehensive paradigms in their fieldwork methods traditionally associated with anthropological and historical research, Grounded Conversations brings together practitioners from the contemporary art world to unravel this ‘anthropological turn’.