ROBERT ZHAO RENHUI
Dusk is falling in Choa Chu Kang as we make our way to the void deck of one of the HDB blocks in the neighbourhood for a bird-watching activity led by artist Robert Zhao Renhui. A torrential downpour puts a damper on our spirits, but it slows to a drizzle by the time we arrive at our destination. With our eyes peeled to the skies, we are looking to spot a massive flurry of parrots coming to roost in the trees lining the road in front of us.
For the past decade, these long-tailed parakeets have been flocking to Choa Chu Kang. “Even though no one knows why, it’s an example of how a species of birds has formed a symbiotic relationship with urban Singapore,” says Zhao. Due to the inclement weather, the artist himself is unsure if we will spot the birds, even though he has been observing and capturing such phenomena on video and soundscape recordings—and for a number of years now at this particular spot.
This is Zhao in his element. While he is not an ecologist by profession (even though he frequently collaborates with one), his interdisciplinary practice explores the complex relationships between nature and culture. Through installation, photography, sculpture and video, he constructs layered narratives, while looking at the multifarious beings and objects within the natural world, offering insights on human and non-human coexistence.
The Singaporean artist, in collaboration with curator Haeju Kim, will represent Singapore at the 60th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia (Biennale Arte 2024), which takes place from April 20 to November 24. Seeing Forest is an exploration of the secondary forests that have sprung up over disturbed or degraded land, and are typically seen as wasteland and unimportant because they are full of invasive species, non-native plants and animals, and have no ecological value to their environment.
“As an artist, I wanted to see if I can find anything interesting out of these spaces,” says Zhao, who has been focusing his research on secondary forests over the past
