The UTOPIA Reimagined Series enters its second edition with four new artistes commissioned, which includes Coming Up Roses, OHMYMEITING, weish and Dru Chen. In line with its mission to promote local creative talents, The Foundation has also commissioned Dr Yanyun Chen, recipient of the Young Artist Award in 2020, to design the cover art for all four singles.
UTOPIA Reimagined: These Corners
By Coming Up Roses
Released: 24 February 2023
“More than to define what ‘utopia’ is, the song seeks out the very possibility of utopia and whether such a state or place exists. And if so, what would people be willing to give up for it – especially if it’s at the expense of others. It also ponders whether people would be truly happy if they found ‘utopia’,” explains lead singer Emily Sera.
The song, UTOPIA Reimagined: These Corners, will premiere at the Alex Blake Charlie Sessions in Singapore on 24 February 2023 and will remain a mainstay in Coming Up Roses’ repertoire in future live performances.The band members, comprising singer/bassist Emily Sera, guitarist Darius Oon, and guitarist Lorenzo Mailum, first connected with The Foundation after sparking a conversation about music export following the band’s tour to Canada in 2022.
Terrestrial
2023
Charcoal on paper
37cm x 37cm
The image of dried, cracked bits of plaster, brick, and clay came to me when I listened to These Corners by Coming Up Roses. The harsh inability to dream beyond walls, the hesitance to think a change because it “could mean a world’s been torn”, these are screams of stasis where salvation is the slow traversing across textured terrains of a foundation which remains ever present to lock us in. After all, there is no going outside, so imagination is the touching of raw wounds of walls.
UTOPIA Reimagined: Silent Sea / 宁静的海洋
By OHMYMEITING
Released: 24 March 2023
“I envisioned the peacefulness of being in a protective environment of a mother’s womb, away from the chaos of the outside world. I wanted to convey the tranquillity, peace and longing for a loved one through the melody and lyrics of my song. For me, that is utopia,” says OHMYMEITING.
Titled UTOPIA Reimagined: Silent Sea, the song was conceived out of her comfort zone, exploring a new genre of music in collaboration with musician and producer Charlie Lim. The commission by The Foundation is another milestone in OHMYMEITING’s journey as an artist, opening a new pathway as she interprets her own version of utopia through her song.
Possession
2023
Charcoal on paper
37cm x 37cm
I’ve often wondered if our creations would miss us once they have left our hands. Nested within a glass case at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, sits a guǐ gōng qiú (鬼工球), a “devil’s work ball”. Described by Ming Scholar Cao Zhao, it alludes to the otherworldly magnificence of such a hand-crafted artisanal object. This free floating 15 layered concentric ivory sphere, also known as “puzzle balls”, left its native shores as an art curio in the 19th Century, purchased by American traders. At its core, the last bone sphere, is a deep darkness. I wonder if it is dreaming of its maker.
UTOPIA Reimagined: house
By weish
Released: 5 May 2023
“I was inspired by the collaborations that was made possible through the previous Utopia Reimagined series. I think, with more and more diverse artists across different genres joining the lineup in future iterations,” says weish.
weish beautifully captures the essence of a truly inclusive society by blending contemporary arrangements with choral-inspired elements derived from the original UTOPIA Symphony. Her carefully crafted sound reflects her vision of a Singapore where every voice and identity is respected, valued, and provided space for open discourse. In this commission, weish has chosen to collaborate with Cheryl Ong from The Observatory, leveraging her extensive knowledge of music traditions and cultures. Together, they create a unique sound that celebrates the beauty of diversity, resulting in a captivating musical experience.
Plumed Serpent
2023
Charcoal on paper
37cm x 37cm
At the other side of the world lay a plumed serpent. He is the wind, the guide, the road sweeper of rain gods. He is a foreigner, an invader, a sacrificer, and a guardian. He is K’uk’ulkan. He is the long count, the ups and downs, the cycles. He is of the sky and of the earth, for he flies and he slithers. He has seen the blood, the ghosts, and the screaming through the crevices of rock, ruin, and time.
He spoke to the sun and burnt his tongue. Staring at the sky, he has questions.
UTOPIA Reimagined: If You Knew
By Dru Chen
Released: 19 May 2023
“I rhetorically ask the listener if they would ‘think twice’ about attempting to follow one’s true north; to pursue what brought real happiness in this lifetime. To return to this state would be a joyous full-circle reunion with one’s infinite possibilities; an enchantment with life itself, at birth,” says Dru Chen.
“Getting to work on this song with him makes me reminisce about simpler times and reminded me about why we do what we do in the first place,” says Charlie Lim about his collaboration with Chen. The Foundation initially connected with Chen while providing support for the production of a previous music video project.
Komorebi Coral
2023
Charcoal on paper
37cm x 37cm
Thin slivers of sunlight between tight walls. Cutting rays and dappled shadows. Light finds its way through crevices and cracks, piercing straight through a concrete jungle. Perhaps, it isn’t just about squeezing through to reach the sun, but embedding, emerging, rooting, carrying the whole damn lot of ingrowths—plaster, brick, stone, ivory, clay, forest—along in the walk-towards. We sink our talons into the infrastructure, and dive into the dark abyss; we are a coral colony migrating through space and time, on our way home.
