Perhaps most famously portrayed by David Hockney in his 1967 “A Bigger Splash,” swimming pools have proved thematically rich material for artists. Singapore’s Khairullah Rahim has tried his own hand at portrayed the city-state’s swimming complexes to a great effect.In the solo show “If You Think I Winked, I Did,” Rahim details objects and landscapes in vibrant color in an attempt to glimpse the metaphoric and symbolic meanings within the landscape and architectural styles. In these photos memory meets social behavior as everyday objects such as pool toys and floatation devices become the focal points of paintings.Rahim’s paintings drip with nostalgia, showing children’s blow-up pool toys like penguins and alligators along with stylized views of the pool. The artist often deals with marginalization of minorities and while there are no humans portrayed in the paintings, only Singaporeans of certain social classes use public pools versus wealthy individuals who can afford private pools.The show is part of FOST Gallery’s FOURSIGHT series, highlighting the work of four young Singaporean artists during the 50th anniversary of the nation. Rahim joins the ranks of Ashley Yeo, Luke Heng, and Izziyana Suhaimi with this exhibition.“If You Think I Winked, I Did” by Khairullah Rahim is on view at FOST Gallery through August 30.
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