Singapore, Very Old Tree

10 Dec 2016 - 13 Oct 2024

Daily from 10am to 7pm | Last admission at 6.15pm

L1 Glass Rotunda

Free admission for Singapore Citizens, Permanent Residents and visitors aged 6 and below. This exhibition will close on 13 October 2024.

Created by renowned local photographer and artist Robert Zhao, this intimate exhibit at the bottom of the Glass Rotunda invites visitors into the images and stories of 17 trees in Singapore – providing an alternative perspective of Singapore’s history and the personal connections that Singaporeans have with our local trees.

The exhibition and its name were inspired by an old postcard from the National Archives of Singapore. Titled "Singapore, Very Old Tree", the postcard depicts an unspecified tree dating back to 1904. This exhibition was first commissioned as part of the Singapore Memory Project and was later showcased as part of the nation's SG50 celebrations.

About the Artist

Robert Zhao Renhui is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work addresses man’s relationship with nature. He presents different modes of the human gaze on nature, frequently highlighting how truth is constructed through a false naturalisation and manipulation of beliefs.

Zhao received a Bachelor of Arts in Photography from the Camberwell College of Arts in London and a Master of Arts in Photography from the London College of Communication. He was the recipient of the United Overseas Bank Painting of the Year Award, Singapore (2009), the National Arts Council Singapore Young Artist Award (2010) and the Deutsche Bank Award in Photography (2011). In 2013, he was selected to participate in that year’s President’s Young Talents exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum.

His works have been shown widely in Singapore and abroad, including exhibitions at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan, the Photo-Levallois Festival in Paris, the GoEun Museum of Photography in Korea and the Singapore Biennale 2013.