Asia TOPA teams up with Footscray Community Arts to deliver two stunning works by Singapore's Sim Chi Yin.
Berlin-based Singaporean artist Sim Chi Yin brings her groundbreaking work to Melbourne this February, presenting both a multimedia performance and solo exhibition at Footscray Community Arts as part of Asia TOPA 2025.
The Nobel Peace Prize photographer’s performance piece One Day We’ll Understand explores transgenerational inheritance through her compelling family history against the backdrop of the Malayan Emergency.
Sim Chi Yin
- Feb 27 to Mar 1 – One Day We’ll Understand
- Feb 4 to Mar 22 – Chronotopia
- Feb 28 – Artist talk
- Footscray Community Arts
- Tickets are on sale now
Explore Melbourne’s latest arts and stage news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
View this post on Instagram
Running from February 27 to March 1, the part-documentary, part-speculative work combines haunting imagery with live percussion by Cheryl Ong, developed under Chamber Made Artistic Director Tamara Saulwick with video art by Nick Roux.
Running alongside the performance, Chronotopia marks Chi Yin’s first Australian solo exhibition at the Roslyn Smorgon Gallery from February 4 to March 22.
The exhibition reappropriates 19th and 20th-century Magic Lantern slides to create an imaginary landscape melding the cosmos with historical Southeast Asia. Through this innovative use of colonial-era artifacts, Chi Yin creates a time-bending narrative connecting her executed grandfather with her toddler son who inherited his name. A colonial train tunnel serves as a portal through time, exploring themes of inheritance, memory and destiny.
Chi Yin’s impressive portfolio includes exhibitions at the Venice Biennale, Istanbul Biennale and prestigious venues like London’s Barbican and Berlin’s Gropius Bau. Her work features in collections at Harvard Art Museums, The J. Paul Getty Museum and the Singapore Art Museum.
The exhibitions form part of Asia TOPA, Melbourne’s Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts, running from February 20 to March 10. Under new Creative Director Jeff Khan, the three-week festival celebrates the creative imagination of artists across the Asia-Pacific region through dance, theatre, music, and visual art.
Visitors can meet Chi Yin at an artist talk on February 28, while the Chronotopia exhibition launch takes place on February 22. Both events showcase at Footscray Community Arts, offering Melbourne audiences a rare glimpse into Chi Yin’s research-based practice that challenges colonial narratives through artistic and archival interventions.
Find more information and book tickets to Chronotopia here and One Day We’ll Understand here.
Presented by Footscray Community Arts, AsiaTOPA, and Arts Centre Melbourne in partnership with CultureLink Singapore and Chamber Made.
One Day We’ll Understand is a CultureLink Singapore production in partnership with Chamber Made commissioned by Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay with support from Footscray Community Arts”
This article was made in partnership with Footscray Community Arts.
