Singapore’s Amanda Heng on making feminist art in a country that wasn’t ready for it
Amanda Heng talks about engaging with the public through art since the 1980s and why her installation at Venice Biennale is all about rest
Since the late 1980s, Singaporean artist Amanda Heng Liang Ngim has invited the public to participate in unusual performances.
In Singapore, Tokyo and Paris, people have joined her in walking barefoot backwards through the city streets with high-heeled shoes stuffed in their mouths to protest unfair beauty standards. In other instances, they have joined Heng for more intimate gatherings, where they help her peel raw bean sprouts and chat over tea.
Her presentation, A Pause, will transform the Singapore Pavilion into a communal space for rest and reflection. Continuing her practice of creating unscripted social encounters, she invites visitors to slow down and take respite, and inhabit the space as part of an ongoing live performance.