Salt Tongues / Far Shores Near
20 January 2026 – 22 February 2026
Participating Artists
Ayaka Yoshida, Liu Liling, Ng Hui Hsien, Susanna Tan, Tamaki Ono, Yang Jie, Yumi Nishimura
Curated by
Wang Ruobing & Yutaka Inagawa
Opening
20 January 2026 (Tuesday), 6–8pm
Guest of Honour
Ms Kawabe Akiko
Director, Japan Creative Centre (JCC)
Counsellor, Embassy of Japan in Singapore
Public Programme
Curators’ Tour
20 January 2026 (Tuesday), 7.30pm
Guided Tour with Singapore Curator and Artists
31 January 2026 (Friday), 5–6pm
About the Exhibition
Salt Tongues / Far Shores Near builds on the 2024 residency and exhibition Murmuring Shores / On the Brink at Onomichi City University, continuing a cross-cultural dialogue between artists from Singapore and Japan. As with its predecessor, the title brings together two intertwined ideas: the sea as a shared environment, and the act of crossing into unfamiliar territory.
This new iteration shifts the focus from sound to sensation. Where murmuring suggested quiet listening, salt tongues evokes a tactile, synaesthetic interplay of tasting, touching, and speaking. “Salt” recalls both the sea and the sharpness of flavour, while “tongues” refer to language as well as the body. Together, they open up a rich sensory space for connection and exchange.
Salt and language also carry deeper resonances—of maritime trade, cultural movement, and translation. The phrase Far Shores Near plays with ideas of distance and proximity, reflecting how places can feel simultaneously far apart and intimately connected.
The exhibition draws on the contrast between two port cities: Onomichi, where sea mist settles on wooden hillsides, and Singapore, where a polyglot buzz animates a densely urban landscape.
Salt Tongues / Far Shores Near extends the collaboration that began during the artists’ residency in Onomichi last November. Through shared memory, movement, and conversation, the artists create new works that continue the dialogue across cultures and coastlines.
Venue
Objectifs Centre for Photography & Film
155 Middle Road, Singapore 188977
Opening Hours
Tuesday–Saturday: 12pm–7pm
Sunday: 12pm–4pm
Closed on Mondays and Public Holidays
Presented by: Comma Space
Venue Supporter: Objectifs Centre for Photography & Film
Supported by: National Arts Council
Part of: Singapore Art Week