A queer perspective
on the search for home
Where do I stay? How might I live? What do I want to do?
These are some of the questions that underpin desiring sanctuary, a presentation of new works by artists Dylan Chan and Ezzam Rahman that examines and celebrates the multifaceted nature of queerness and creativity as it intersects with the search for “home”. The show brings together an array of mediums such as object assemblages, installations, photographic prints, and texts, working together to offer insights into how individuals who are queer and “at odds” in multiple ways negotiate for a place in a world that sets them at the periphery.
At its core, desiring sanctuary is not only an exhibition, but a dialogue about the notion of sanctuary itself—as a place of safety, a vessel for memories, and a site of creative experimentation and muted resistance.
As a part of the exhibition proceedings, the show will bring the two artists together in conversation with the show’s curator, Regina De Rozario, to delve into the thinking behind the new works. Together they will also expand on how they have, in their respective ways, desired for refuge and belonging, and created similar spaces for themselves and for others.
- Exhibition Dates: 14 Sep to 29 Sep 2024
- Viewing Hours: Thursdays to Sundays, 1pm to 7pm (till 6.30pm on Thursday 26 Sep)
- Conversation with Artists and Curator: Saturday, 28 Sep 2024, 3pm
- Audience advisory: The exhibition and conversation session will contain themes suitable for mature audiences only. Visitor discretion is advised.
Final weekend at the gallery — The artists and curator will be in on the following days:
Thursday, 26 Sep — Dylan Chan (1pm to 6.30pm). Please note that we will close the show at 6.30pm on Thursday.
Friday, 27 Sep — Ezzam Rahman (1pm to 7pm); Dylan Chan (2pm to 7pm); Regina De Rozario (3pm to 5pm)
Saturday, 28 Sep — Dylan Chan; Ezzam Rahman (1pm to 7pm); Regina De Rozario (3pm to 6pm)
Sunday, 22 Sep — Dylan Chan (1pm to 7pm); Ezzam Rahman (2pm to 7pm); Regina De Rozario (4pm to 7pm)
desiring sanctuary is an independently funded and produced show, with venue support from starch. If you can, please show your support for the artists by acquiring one of their works, commissioning new works, or even making a cash contribution. All proceeds will go towards recovering the artists’ production costs for this show, as well as their ongoing artistic practice. Get in touch with us for more information.
Exhibition Floor Plan
Artworks
The artworks are listed in the order shown on the floor plan.
There are no interpretive texts. Please engage with the artworks as placed by the artists in response to the site. Artwork arrangements may change over the course of the exhibition.
All artworks are available for acquisition, unless indicated otherwise.
Please approach the respective artists directly for more details.
1
Happy together (I’m glad we decided to stay)
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper, transparency, gesso, wood, wooden slats
Unique arrangement, dimensions variable
May be acquired in pairs
2
Weighted down, Navigating noise (facing front)
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper, gesso, wood, wooden slats
Unique arrangement, 75 x 73 cm
3
At the end of the day, Navigating noise (looking at the back)
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper, vinyl, gesso, wood
Unique arrangement, 88 x 45 cm
4 (Part 1)
you denied everything
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Two-part work. Part 1 of 2: Anti-inflammatory plaster packagings, staplers, adhesives, cartridge paper in frames
3 frames, 27 x 27 x 6.5 cm per frame
To be acquired as a set (Part 1 and 2)
*Sold (as of 15 Sep 2024)
4 (Part 2)
you denied everything
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Two-part work. Part 2 of 2: Anti-inflammatory plaster packagings, staplers, adhesives, wooden dowels on cardboard
2 pieces, 50 x 40 x 1 cm per piece
To be acquired as a set (Part 1 and 2)
*Sold (as of 15 Sep 2024)
5
I am coming home
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper; gesso, and wood
2 panels, 30.5 x 46 cm per panel
To be acquired in a set. Editions of 3
6
i am picking up the pieces from what you had left
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Used ankle and knee guards, stretch bandages, adhesives, epoxy resin on canvas
3 panels, 50 x 40 x 1 cm per panel
May be acquired as individual pieces or a set
*Left panel sold (as of 15 Sep 2024). Middle panel sold (as of 22 Sep 2024). Please enquire with the artist.
7
i don’t belong here
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Installation with expired medication, shot glasses, whiskey bottle, epoxy resin, and wooden side table
Variable dimensions
To be acquired as a set
8
The greener the grass, the higher the chance…
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper, gesso, wood, wooden slats
Unique arrangement, 2 pieces, 75 x 13 cm per piece
9
i am picking up the pieces from what you had left
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Used anti-inflammatory plasters, used ankle and knee guards, stretch bandages, adhesives, epoxy resin on wooden board
5 panels, 16 x 10 x 5 cm per panel
May be acquired as individual pieces or a set
*Limited panels available. Please enquire with the artist.
10
We bit our tongues
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper, gesso, wood, wooden slats
Unique arrangement, 2 panels, 75 x 25 cm (left), 75 x 15 cm (right)
*Right panel sold (as of 15 Sep 2024). Please enquire with the artist.
11
siapa lelaki melayu? (who is a malay man?)
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Artist’s skin and hair, used anti-inflammatory plasters, adhesives, epoxy resin on canvas
3 panels, 60 x 30 x 3 cm per panel
To be acquired as a set of 3 panels
12
fv<k me
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Floor installation with repurposed poppers bottles and epoxy resin
Variable dimensions
May be acquired as individual pieces or a set
13
Your/My side of the bed
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Floor installation with sand paper, wood, wooden slats
Variable dimensions
14
i’m hurt when you say it out loud
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Floor installation in two parts. Arrangement 1 of 2: Depleted analgesic balm tubes and thermoplastic elastomers
Variable dimensions
May be acquired as individual pieces or a set
15
they are just words that you can’t relate
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Artist’s hair, used anti-inflammatory plasters, repurposed scrap genuine leather, adhesive, epoxy resin on wooden board
7 pieces, 16 x 10 x 2 cm per piece
May be acquired as individual pieces or a set
*All pieces sold (as of 22 Sep 2024)
16
Growing pains
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper, transparency, gesso, wood, wooden slats
Variations 1/2, 2 pieces, 75 x 37 cm
*Sold
17
f*ggot
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Artist’s hair, used anti-inflammatory plasters, repurposed scrap genuine leather, adhesives, epoxy resin on canvas
25 x 1 cm
*Sold (as of 15 Sep 2024)
18
i’m hurt when you say it out loud
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Floor installation in two parts. Arrangement 2 of 2: Depleted analgesic balm tubes and thermoplastic elastomers
Variable dimensions
To be acquired as a set
19
i don’t have much but i have these
Ezzam Rahman. 2024.
Empty medicine casings in handmade corrugated cardboard box
19 x 13 x 6.5 cm
Not for sale
20
I need you by my side
Dylan Chan. 2024.
Digital print on cotton pulp paper, gesso, wood, wooden slats
Unique arrangement, 75 x 35 cm
*Sold (as of 18 Sep 2024)
21
desiring sanctuary: collected objects arranged in three parts
Regina De Rozario, Ezzam Rahman, and Dylan Chan. 2024.
Arrangement 1: glass candle holders and scent bottles collected by Regina De Rozario, 1999-2024. Arrangement 2: ceramic fruit and glass bowls collected by Ezzam Rahman, 2000-2024. Arrangement 3: ceramic cups and bottle collected by Dylan Chan, 2020-2024
Variable dimensions
Each arrangement to be acquired as a set
About the Artists
Dylan Chan (b. 1997, Singapore) is a Singapore-based artist who graduated from LASALLE College of the Arts with a Bachelors in Fine Arts (Hons) in 2022. He was awarded the Winston Oh (Practice) Award 2018 and 2022, and nominated for the prestigious Takifuji Art Award 2022, along with the Sovereign Art Prize 2024. His practice sits on the cusp between image making and object making, reexamining the ways in which the body positions itself within the domestic space and its phenomenological response towards objects. In trying to articulate the subtle nuances of the personal, Chan is interested in the ways the body navigates the thresholds of and relationships between the private spaces and the ground upon which it stands upon.
For collection/commissioning enquiries: dylanchanrh[at]gmail.com
Meet Dylan at the exhibition this final weekend:
Thursday, 26 Sep (1pm to 6.30m)
Friday, 27 Sep (2pm to 7pm)
Saturday, 28 Sep (1pm to 7pm)
Sunday, 29 Sep (1pm to 7pm)
Ezzam Rahman (b. 1981, Singapore) is a multi-disciplinary artist known for his interest in the body and the use of common, easily accessible, yet unconventional media in his art practice. Working across sculpture, installation, digital media, and performance, he creates works that are often autobiographical, time-based, and ephemeral, aiming to pique viewers’ thoughts on the themes of body politics, identity, impermanence, traces, and abjection.
Ezzam is an adjunct lecturer in LASALLE College of the arts and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Singapore. He was awarded a joint winner of the Grand Prize for the President’s Young Talents 2015 and the People’s Choice Award by the Singapore Art Museum. In 2016, Ezzam was awarded the Goh Chok Tong Youth Promise Award by Yayasan Mendaki and the prestigious Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council, Singapore.
In 2021, Ezzam was awarded the Most Promising Award; photography category for PULSE Awards, Thailand and was appointed the artistic director for a year, for The Substation, an independent arts company, Singapore. In 2023 Ezzam was invited by the National Institute of Education NIE, Singapore for their NIE Visiting Artist Programme and was the artistic director appointed by Plus Collaboratives for the National Arts Council’s launch event of NAC Our SG Arts Plan (2023 – 2027).
For collection/commissioning enquiries: ezzamrahman[at]gmail.com
Meet Ezzam at the exhibition this final weekend:
Friday, 27 Sep (1pm to 7pm)
Saturday, 28 Sep (1pm to 7pm)
Sunday, 29 Sep (2pm to 7pm)
More on Ezzam: Instagram
About the Curator
Regina De Rozario (b. 1973, Singapore) is an artist, writer, and researcher based in Singapore. Her practice and research interests are drawn from psychogeography, assemblage thinking and making, queer feminist practices, and visual culture. Apart from her solo practice, De Rozario is active as one-half of Perception3, an interdisciplinary art duo established in 2007 with design practitioner Seah Sze Yunn. De Rozario received the National Arts Council Postgraduate Scholarship in 2018, to conduct her doctoral research on art in public space at the School of Art, Design and Media, Nanyang Technological University (2018-2020), and the National Institute of Education (2020-present). In 2023, she was awarded the 2nd Prize for Poetry in English for her collection The end of all things at the Golden Point Awards.
Meet Regina at the exhibition this final weekend:
Friday, 27 Sep (3pm to 5pm)
Saturday, 28 Sep (3pm to 6pm)
Sunday, 29 Sep (4pm to 7pm)
More on Regina: Web / Instagram / Perception3
Acknowledgements
Concept
Ezzam Rahman
Dylan Chan
Regina De Rozario
Exhibition Texts
Regina De Rozario
Visuals & Photography
Dylan Chan
Venue Support
starch
Venue Liaison
Dylan Chan
Media & Publicity
Dylan Chan
Installation & Logistics
Dylan Chan
Ezzam Rahman
Website
Regina De Rozario
Floor Plan Visual
Seah Sze Yunn
desiring sanctuary. Copyright 2024.
All rights reserved by the respective artists.