Haw Par Villa is an in-between space. Its dioramas unfold but in stasis; its statues are chimeras, half-man, half-beast. It takes you through an air-conditioned Hell, to the threshold of human existence—that is, if you suspend disbelief. For Haw Par Villa too exists between reality and artifice, a rocky landscape and plaster scaffolding.
Caught between a need to stay true to its past and a desire for relevance, Haw Par Villa reinvents itself repeatedly. It is at once restless and inanimate. Its ageing grounds bears the scars and prosthetics of this uncertain identity, as peeling dioramas coexist with new gift shops.
What is Haw Par Villa, really? Who is it for? Join sploosh! as we traverse the worn pathways of Haw Par Villa, exploring the contradictions and liminalities that haunt this... ?????.
Held in conjunction with the open call for sploosh! Issue Three, HAUNT.
VENUE: Haw Par Villa
ADDRESS: 262 Pasir Panjang Road Singapore, Singapore 118628
TICKETS: Peatix
DATE AND TIME
22 June 2024, 4pm-7.30pm