The Supreme Game (No. 16/27)

Tang Da Wu, born in 1943, is widely regarded as the central figure in the development of ‘alternative’ art in Singapore. A graduate from Goldsmith College, University of London with a Master of Art, he led a group of younger artists to establish The Artists Village in Singapore in 1988, where performance, installation and painting took place. Since the late 1990s, Tang has been working on community projects that deal with memory, history as well as environmental issues. In 1999, Tang was awarded the Arts and Culture Prize at the 10th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes and in 2007, he was one of four artists who represented Singapore at the Venice Biennale.The Supreme Game series, conceived in 2003, is an installation of three layers with each comprising nine paintings. Each layer represents a level of society or art world: the authoritative figures make up the top layer, the established artists and institutes the middle layer, while the young and aspiring artists are placed on the lowest layer.