"One minute on stage, 10 years of work offstage.”

This is a phrase that artist Yang Jie used in explaining the concept behind the installation Breath of the Land《呼吸之地》, a collaboration between him and veteran Singapore artist Lim Soo Ngee.

Exploring Singapore’s ever-evolving built environment, the exhibition reflects on the toil that has gone into building the landscapes that we see today. The duo also shares how they used familiar materials in unusual ways, as they reimagined the country as a living, breathing organism—one that remembers, and one that also forgets. 

Aptly, this phrase also applies to the creation of this installation, and of many other site-specific visual arts exhibitions at Esplanade. In this video, Esplanade’s visual arts team provides some insight into what goes into materialising the constant cycle of exhibitions by local and regional artists in Singapore’s national performing arts centre. 

Breath of the Land《呼吸之地》is at Esplanade Concourse until 6 Jul 2025. 

Read more about this exhibition in this artist interview.