Amanda Heng Liang Ngim's exhibition 'A Pause' has opened at the Singapore Pavilion of the 61st International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. The installation transforms the historic Sale d’Armi into a contemplative space using larch wood platforms, photographs, and a dual-channel video that observes everyday gestures of rest and renewal in Venice and Singapore. The presentation also includes a reprint of her 1990 series 'Parts of My Body' and is accompanied by a comprehensive monograph, 'Amanda Heng: On and On'.
This exhibition matters because it marks Singapore's continued presence at the world's most prestigious contemporary art biennial, showcasing a senior female artist whose four-decade practice has long explored the body, everyday life, and social encounter. By centering quietness and pause in a global art spectacle, Heng offers a counterpoint to the frenetic pace of the art world, while the accompanying monograph and architectural intervention underscore the growing institutional recognition of Southeast Asian feminist art histories.