Artworks in order of appearance:

1.

Everything Reminds Me of Him
2021
Acrylic paint, glitter ribbon, & polyvinyl acetate glue on stretched canvas
110 x 110 cm

2.

That’s the Last Time I’m Watering Your Flowers
2021
Acrylic paint, metallic polyurethane, glitter ribbon, & polyvinyl acetate glue on stretched canvas
110 x 110 cm


Part of “Dress/Address” at Grey Projects Curated by Jason Wee
Excerpt by Weiqi Yap

At Grey Projects’ 2021 Queer Exhibition, ‘Dress/Address’, clothes provide this way in. From its title, the show posits clothing as “the externalisation of an internally coherent self”. This exhibition does away with the fantasy-laden conjectures Porter speaks of when we see clothes as fashion; and instead as material artefacts of our lived experiences.

‘That’s The Last Time I’m Watering Your Flowers’ and ‘Everything Reminds Me of Him’, are the first two-dimensional works in his practice. Xun’s works in this show are a departure from his “soft sculpture installations” and plush, maximalist garments per his graduate collection, ‘FEMBUOYANT!’. But they still feel true to Xun’soeuvre—glitter ribbon is meticulously ruffled and spun into graphic shapes reminiscent of op art. Hung on the wall facing each other, the two pieces are placed in knowing conversation with each other with their tongue-in-cheek titles. Though technically unwearable, there is a wry self-awareness to the textile-based work that knows they may come across as ornamental or decorative—but these pieces continue to demand attention, even on a wall. It would be interesting to contemplate how Xun situates these ‘unwearable’ works against his wearable body of work, given his frequent explorations of Singaporean queer identity through overtly camp garments.

Full exhibition review available on request.