NTU Museum Launches “On the cusp” Exhibition Exploring Memory, Identity and Transition Across Campus

NTU Museum has unveiled On the cusp, a new campus-wide exhibition featuring newly commissioned works by three acclaimed Southeast Asian artists: Boedi Widjaja, Torlarp Larpjaroensook, and Tromarama. Open to the public and presented across three locations within Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), the exhibition integrates contemporary art into everyday campus life, enriching the university’s cultural landscape beyond the classroom.

Running until 2 April 2026 and presented as part of Singapore Art Week, On the cusp reflects on how belonging, connection and identity are shaped at moments of transition, between past and present, the physical and the virtual, and the earthly and the spiritual. Drawing on themes of memory, language, cosmology and mediated perception, the exhibition invites viewers to consider how these forces influence their sense of self and place in the world.

While especially resonant for university students navigating formative periods of growth and change, the exhibition also speaks to wider audiences encountering similar questions of identity, connection and belonging in everyday life.

Art Integrated into the NTU Campus

The exhibition spans three sites across the NTU campus: Nanyang Lake Pavilion, Chinese Heritage Centre Lawn, and INDEX at North Spine Plaza, highlighting diverse Southeast Asian artistic perspectives that mirror the multicultural makeup of the university community itself.

Each artist offers a distinct approach to the exhibition’s core themes. Boedi Widjaja explores memory, language and bio-scientific processes; Torlarp Larpjaroensook reinterprets cosmology and cultural narratives; and Tromarama examines digital perception within daily life. Together, their works draw inspiration from NTU’s interdisciplinary environment and historical ties to heritage, offering multiple entry points for reflection on identity and connection.

I Want to Infect You with History

Boedi Widjaja (Indonesia/Singapore)
Location: Nanyang Lake Pavilion

At the Nanyang Lake Pavilion, Boedi Widjaja transforms the site into a metaphorical living cell, a porous structure through which memory, language and genetic code circulate and endure. Using molecular code as a starting point, the installation unfolds through poetry, sculpture, performance and photography, revealing hidden narratives embedded within the body.

A key component of the work is a new collaboration with Dr Eric Yap, Associate Professor in Human and Microbial Genetics at NTU’s Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. A poem written by the artist is encoded into DNA using a biocultural cipher shaped by Widjaja’s multilingual heritage, exploring themes of migration, displacement, inherited histories and molecular memory.

In conjunction with the exhibition, NTU Museum will present an artist talk in March 2026, featuring Boedi Widjaja in conversation with Dr Yap. The session will offer insights into the cross-disciplinary processes behind the work, including the use of microfluidic lab techniques and DNA synthesis as artistic media, underscoring NTU’s role in fostering dialogue between art, science and technology.

Cosmos of Nostalgia

Torlarp Larpjaroensook (Thailand)
Location: Chinese Heritage Centre Lawn

Presented on the lawn beside Nanyang Lake, Cosmos of Nostalgia is a sculptural installation inspired by Chinese cosmology, celestial myths and cultural memory. Drawing from the artist’s Thai and Chinese heritage, the work references legends such as Chang’e and Wan Hu, alongside Thai science fiction and early science encyclopaedias.

Constructed from fibreglass, the structure’s interior reveals a hand-painted landscape that evokes a personal universe where time flows in multiple directions. Functioning as a time capsule from the future filled with traces of the past, the installation reflects humanity’s enduring fascination with the cosmos and invites contemplation on memory, imagination and the layered nature of existence.

Turn On

Tromarama (Indonesia)
Location: INDEX, North Spine Plaza, Level 1

At INDEX, North Spine Plaza, Indonesian artist collective Tromarama presents Turn On, a digital media work inspired by the ubiquitous electric fan, a familiar object across Southeast Asia. Displayed on an LED screen, fans of varying sizes and colours appear to activate the surrounding digital environment as they spin, as if stirred by invisible airflow.

Rooted in Tromarama’s exploration of hyperreality and mediated perception, the work examines how digital representations reshape our relationships with everyday objects. By animating a household item essential to comfort in the tropical climate, Turn On reflects on how technology influences behaviour, memory and daily interactions.

NTU as a Living Museum

As a museum without walls, NTU Museum continues to embed art into everyday campus spaces through the NTU Campus Art Trail. Launched in 2018 as the first initiative of its kind in a Singaporean university, the trail showcases diverse creative expressions that reflect NTU’s evolving identity.

Most recently revamped in 2025, the trail now features a new map highlighting iconic architecture and artworks across the campus. Recent additions include Becoming by 8EyedSpud, NTU’s largest wall mural to date at 6.4 metres high, and Yip Yew Chong’s Tribute to Dr Wee Cho Yaw, a 12-metre-long panoramic painting commemorating the renaming of Wee Cho Yaw Plaza.

NTU Museum’s exhibitions and the Campus Art Trail are also accessible via Bloomberg Connects, a global digital arts and culture guide launched in Singapore in 2025. The app provides mapping tools, artwork information and exhibition highlights, enabling visitors to explore the campus art offerings at their own pace.

Expanding Public Engagement Beyond Campus

As part of its public engagement initiatives, NTU Museum will also present the West Side Art Tour, a guided bus-and-walking experience that extends the exhibition’s context beyond the NTU campus into Singapore’s western region. Open to students, staff and members of the public, the tour runs in conjunction with Singapore Art Week 2026 to mark the launch of On the cusp.

Scheduled on 24 January and 31 January 2026, the tour traces a curated route through key artworks, architectural landmarks and heritage sites in and around NTU, as well as neighbouring districts within the Nanyang constituency. Participants will gain deeper insight into how contemporary art, architecture and lived histories intersect within the evolving cultural landscape of western Singapore.