The National Gallery Singapore has opened "Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art," its first R18 exhibition, running from April 24 to August 30, 2026. The show explores eroticism in Southeast Asian modern and contemporary art, drawing inspiration from Nanyang school artist Liu Kang's 1953 essay on Bali. It features works from Singapore's national collection and the region, including Liu Kang's "Scene in Bali" (1953), Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook's video "I'm Living" (2002), and a 14th-15th century tantric Buddhist statue. The exhibition is divided into three sections—"Asian Mythos and Ritual," "Conventions of the Erotic," and "Public Arenas/Private Interiors"—and is restricted to audiences over 18 due to Singapore's media regulations, with photography prohibited.
This exhibition matters because it marks a significant institutional step for the National Gallery Singapore in addressing themes of desire and the erotic, which are often censored or marginalized in the region. By using the erotic as a lens to reinterpret historical and contemporary art, the show challenges conventional norms and opens up alternative forms of knowledge and subjectivity. The R18 restriction and photography ban highlight tensions between institutional control and the voyeuristic gaze, particularly in the context of social media culture. The exhibition also brings attention to underrepresented Southeast Asian artists and histories, including precolonial tantric practices and queer histories in Singapore.