Entangled Histories: Albizias and the Making of New Ecologies

You are cordially invited to attend the guest lecture by Robert Zhao:

Date: Thursday, 16^th January 2025

Time: 18:00 – 20:00

Venue: SDE4 Level 5, Forum

Entangled Histories: Albizias and the Making of New Ecologies

In this talk, Robert Zhao delves into the entangled histories of Albizia trees (Albizia moluccana) and the secondary forests of Singapore, such as those in Gillman Barracks. Once planted for economic purposes, Albizias have since become resilient pioneers in disturbed landscapes, creating forests that defy human control and expectations. These spaces act as living archives, where traces of human history merge with the forest’s unpredictable and self-determined growth.

Through long-term observations, Zhao explores how secondary forests evolve on their own terms, revealing a vitality and autonomy that resists categorization. He reflects on the ways these forests, often dismissed as transient or invasive, redefine our understanding of time, adaptation, and coexistence.

Highlighting the Albizia’s role as both an ecological disruptor and a symbol of regeneration, this talk considers how forests embody the tension between human intention and nature’s unpredictability, creating dynamic and living ecologies.

Robert Zhao Renhui (b. 1983, Singapore) is a multi-disciplinary artist and the founder of the Institute of Critical Zoologists. His artistic practice addresses the human relationship with nature. Zhao received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Photography from Camberwell College of Arts and London College of Communication respectively. His work has been exhibited in international group shows such as Busan Biennale 2020; Singapore Biennale 2019; Asia Pacific Triennial, Queensland, Australia, 2018; Jiwa: Jakarta Biennale, Indonesia, 2017; 7th Moscow Biennale, Russia, 2017; 20th Sydney Biennale, Australia 2016; Les Recontres d’Arles, France, 2015. Amongst his more recent solo exhibitions in Singapore are The Nature Museum, commissioned by Singapore International Festival of Art (SIFA) and The Bizarre Honour, realized for OH! Open House, both in 2017.

Zhao has undertaken residencies at the Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, France, and Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco, United States, and the Fukuoka Art Museum, Japan. He was awarded the Young Artist Award by the National Arts Council in 2010 and was a finalist of the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award 2017 and the 12th Benesse Art Prize in 2019. He represented Singapore in the 2024 Venice Art Biennale with Curator Haeju Kim.