SINGAPORE — The number of Singapore artists showing at the Singapore Biennale this year will see a sharp drop, with just 10 Singapore artists out of a total of 62 artists and art collectives, compared to 25 Singapore artists in the previous edition two years ago.

Announcing the full artists lineup on Thursday evening (Sept 22), the Singapore Art Museum (SAM) said although the number has dropped, the percentage of Singapore artists relative to those of other countries still remains roughly the same.

“In terms of percentage of Singapore artists, it is not any lower than the previous edition. It is just the absolute number that is less because the number of projects are lesser this year,” said Joyce Toh, curatorial co-head of SAM and member of the Singapore Biennale 2016 (SB2016) curatorial team.

There were 82 artists and art collectives in the previous Singapore Biennale, compared to the 62 this time round. This year, the artists are from 18 countries and territories in South-east Asia, South Asia and East Asia.

Citing space and budget constraints as reasons for this reduction, she said: “We are having larger artworks and we have expanded out to East Asia and South Asia so overall there are higher costs, although the budget is still the same.”

Organised by SAM since 2011 and prior to that, National Arts Council (NAC), the Singapore Biennale is billed as one of Singapore’s major international art platforms and runs from Oct 27 this year to Feb 26 next year.

Titled the Atlas of Mirrors, the exhibition uses the two objects — atlas and mirror — as metaphors in commissioning works that explore new perspectives of migratory and intertwining relationships within the region, and reflect on shared histories and current realities with East and South Asia.

Among the artists announced on Thursday were three Singapore artists — young artist Debbie Ding, 32, who aims to wow visitors with a physical recreation of a bomb shelter typical of Housing Development Board (HDB) flats in 1997, Zulkifle Mahmod who is at the forefront of a generation of sound-media artists in Singapore’s contemporary arts scene and S. Chandrasekaran, who is known for his viscerally intense performance art and is currently head of the McNally School of Arts at Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore.

Also included are the previously announced mix of established and emerging Singapore artists such as David Chan, Fyerool Darma, Han Sai Por, Jack Tan, Lim Soo Ngee, Melissa Tan and artist collective Perception 3.

Commenting on the reduced number of Singapore artists, Zulkifle told TODAY he was surprised to hear the news. "I thought by now, we should have more Singaporean participating. Singaporean artists should be celebrated in an event such as biennale. It is our home turf after all."

Chandrasekaran, who has participated in major international exhibitions such as the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane, 1993, said: “Singapore Biennale should be focused in representing the diversity of local art works and continue supporting regional art scene. In doing so, it provides an international profile for our local artists to be placed in the regional art scene.”

He added: “I believe one could do more in including both emerging and established artists in this biennale. These sorts of interactions will build a strong building ground for Singapore art scene.”

The 57-year-old artist has been commissioned to create an installation work focusing on the thousands of Indian convicts who, from 1825 to 1873, were transported to the Straits Settlements (present day Singapore and Malaysia) and served their sentence as manual labourers.

SB2016 will present 60 artworks spanning various mediums, and will be clustered around nine sub-themes and presented across seven venues — Singapore Art Museum (SAM) and 8Q at SAM, Asian Civilisations Museum, de Suantio Gallery at Singapore Management University, National Museum of Singapore, Stamford Green, the Old Parliament House, and the Peranakan Museum.

Fyerool Darma, 29, one of the young artists exhibiting at this Biennale, recalled that the Biennale had a greater international diversity when it first premiered, but began to notice “that it was more focused in its context of the region in its later editions”.

The artist departs from his paintings to present sculptures at the upcoming Biennale — that of Sir Stamford Raffles and Sultan Hussein Mua’zzam Shah — and will examine the phenomenon of growing historical amnesia. Both figures had played pivotal roles in the signing of two treaties that resulted in the founding of modern Singapore.

On the cultural diversity of the Biennale, he observed: “I do see there is an effort in including individuals of and from different languages, customs, beliefs and approaches in presenting their works. It is an advantage to have these several views at the same time too.”

Singapore Biennale 2016: An Atlas of Mirrors will run from Oct 27 to Feb 26.