Jeremy Sharma (b. 1977, Singapore) creates ambiguous objects. Readily blurring and splicing disciplines and mediums, he is particularly interested in the possible materialisations of a priori intangible substances, from memories to data. His best-known works include sculptures whose enigmatic reliefs are inspired by pulsars, the vast celestial bodies that emit radio waves. Entitled “fidelity”, his solo exhibition at Aloft transports visitors to the heart of different cultural communities from across Southeast Asia. From the nostalgic melodies of the Kristang people, a group descended from Portuguese sailors who arrived in Malaysia in the 16th century, to the Persian and Arab sonorities woven into the rhythmic chants of the Rohingya, the artist has recorded songs of love and belief. In his first sound-only installation, he sculpts voices and language as so many materials bearing the imprint of history.

For his exhibition at Aloft, Xavier Antin (b. 1981, France) is inspired by the city state of Singapore, from the lush, tropical vegetation of its parks and gardens to its powerful financial and banking industries. His exhibition features a suspended landscape of floral textiles, printed using a mixture of manual and digital techniques. Fans incorporated into a sculptural structure provide a light breeze that traverses the space and brings the material to life. Connected to an online bitcoin trading platform, the sculpture is programmed to order a bouquet of flowers to the exhibition space every time it makes a profit. Exploring the rich tensions between technology and nature, the visible and the hidden, the tradition of vanitas paintings and the contemporary human condition, Xavier Antin here revisits the ancestral theme of floral representation.