Born in 1962 in Singapore, Salleh bin Japar is a conceptual multi-disciplinary artist whose work addresses concerns of identity and society, Muslim values, and globalisation. Salleh came to prominence with the seminal 1988 collaborative exhibition ‘Trimurti’, and in 2001 was a Singapore Pavilion representative at the 49th Venice Biennale.‘Mechanised Learning’ was exhibited in Salleh’s first solo exhibition titled ‘Project R.O.H.’ in August 1993. The exhibition was a follow-up to ‘Confess and Conceal: 11 Insights from Contemporary Southeast Asia and Australia’ held earlier in March 1993 at the Art Gallery of Western Australia. For Salleh, this solo show was a continuing effort to engage with a learning process that would give him a wider insight to art history and philosophy. The tableau consists of assembled objects replete with innuendo and history; a myriad of significant notions concerned with education and the process of learning, presented for examination to the viewer.
