A Modern Hierarchy of Needs
BY MARC NAIR
BladeRunner Ballroom, PROJECTOR X: PICTURE HOUSE
Artist Talk : 11 April from 7 to 8 pm
moderated by Deborah Lim, curator, ArtScience Museum Singapore
The shrines we worship at are not too different from those of a generation or two ago, and yet, they are not exactly the same. Technology makes us all desolate. But at the same time, we are more than our obligations to our devices. How, then, do we navigate this confluence of identity with an age that thrives on shifting the tectonics of the self into a perpetually online state? We are affected and can affect lives everywhere with a hashtag, with a tweet, with a viral video. But what of the larger ideas of living?
A Modern Hierarchy of Needs is, on the surface, a reimagining of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a theory of motivation that categorises human needs as a way of measuring our behaviour. Through 10 contemplative landscapes of text and images, A Modern Hierarchy of Needs offers a different prospect of being and becoming, laying flat the hierarchy of pre-determined needs. In doing so, it walks alongside the idea of cosmopolitanism as defined by philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah, that we have obligations to others that go beyond the idea of shared citizenship. These reflect how we engage in the practice of our lives, thinking about what lends significance to particular beliefs or philosophies.
- 23 March -
- 13 April, 2023
Singapore
A glimpse into the exhibition
Consumerism, Patterns of Sleep, the Notion of Work
The artworks offer ways of thinking about different states that bind us together; from consumerism to patterns of sleep to the notion of work to the ever-looming spectre of the future. They do not attempt to offer anything close to a complete mirror of ourselves, but are fragments, waypoints on a vast and unordered map. They speak to us in question and story and offer a different way of seeing, both inside and out.
A Modern Hierarchy of Needs is the latest iteration of Handbook of Daily Movement, a multidisciplinary project that was first conceived as a spoken word and movement film with choreographer Sudhee Liao in 2019. In 2020, it was commissioned for Textures Festival as a live performance with music by Mantravine and costumes by Audrey Ng.
About the Artist
Marc Nair works at the intersection of art forms. His practice revolves around the ironies and idiosyncrasies of everyday life. He has published ten collections of poetry. Sounds Like A Buzz, a spoken word album, was released in 2022 under Maker Records. Estate Frequencies: Tiong Bahru, a poetry and story podcast, will be launched later this year. A Modern Hierarchy of Needs is Nair’s fourth exhibition with Intersections Gallery.