LAH! Stories from the Neighbourhood: Aisha Rosli, Casey Tan, Dian Suci, Faris Heizer, Iqi Qoror, Prabu Perdana, Ruth Marbun, Shen Jiaqi

Cuturi Gallery is proud to present LAH! Stories From the Neighbourhood, in collaboration with Artsphere Gallery from Jakarta, an encounter of 8 contemporary artists from two neighbouring countries, Indonesia and Singapore.

Prabu Perdana and Shen Jiaqi tell stories from landscapes of urban isolation, industrialised grounds and agricultural lands in transition. Ruth Marbun composes collages and fragments of existential questions, while we can see portrayals of the current generation’s anxieties and subjectivities through the works of Casey Tan, Dian Suci, Faris Heizer, Iqi Qoror, and Aisha Rosli.

As young Singaporean and Indonesian artists, these ‘neighbours’ present narratives shaping stories that reflect issues, social concerns, and personal anxieties of their generation.

Prabu Perdana and Shen Jiaqi present poetic visions of shifting landscapes and agricultural spaces marked by urban isolation and industrial development, while the works of Iqi Qoror and Faris Heizer challenge representational norms and notions of individuality through fragmented, emotionally charged figures. Dian Suci and Casey Tan explore identity and power through portraiture, framed within socio-political contexts. Ruth Marbun and Aisha Rosli navigate interior states through layered compositions, balancing fragility and introspection. Together, their paintings echo the tensions of contemporary life, from societal performance to identity formation in the digital age, capturing a spectrum of emotional states, both personal and collective.

Framed as an artistic dialogue between “neighbours”, LAH! Stories from the Neighbourhood highlights both the shared sensibilities and distinct conditions that influence painting practices in Southeast Asia today. The exhibition title draws from the ubiquitous Southeast Asian expression “lah”. Its abundant use in everyday conversations—whether in Malay, Singlish, or Bahasa Indonesia—highlights its role as a linguistic bridge across communities. In this context, it also serves as an analogy for the contemporary painting medium itself: a unifying tie that binds all eight artists, a common tool that while employed in vastly different ways, suggests a shared familiarity and connectivity among these neighbours.

LAH! Stories from the Neighbourhood invites audiences to traverse the shared landscapes of Singapore and Indonesia, offering a lens into the collective consciousness of a region rich in history, diversity, and artistic innovation. This collaboration between Cuturi Gallery and Artsphere Gallery galleries’ commitment to fostering artistic dialogue between Southeast Asia’s creative community affirms both.

LAH! Stories from the Neighbourhood will be on view at 61 Aliwal Street, Singapore 199937, from 24 May to 5 July 2025.