garden city

alba escayo

23 October - 2 November | Wednesday - Friday ,1PM - 7PM. Saturday - Sunday, 1PM - 6PM.

39 Keppel Rd, #03-10 Tanjong Pagar Distripark, Singapore 089065

Opening Reception: 22 October | 5:30PM - 8:30PM | RSVP

Artist Talk: 25 October | 3PM - 4PM | RSVP

brief

For more than fifteen years, Singapore has been a source of lasting inspiration for Alba Escayo. Its rapid transformation from a small fishing village to a global city is a story that continues to resonate with her own practice. The presence of the coast, the memory of the sea, and the traces of everyday life form a subtle undercurrent in her work.

Garden City reflects on how cities both grow and remember—how fragments of the past survive within landscapes of continuous change. Escayo often turns to old postcards, photographs, and archival images, using them as materials and points of departure. By bringing these remnants into her pieces, she creates new layers where memory and imagination overlap.

The exhibition unfolds as a constellation of paintings, collages, and small objects. Instead of a single monumental work, these fragments gather into an expansive wall composition, inviting viewers to drift among shifting colours and gestures, much like wandering through the city itself.

The title recalls Singapore’s early vision of a “garden city.” Here, it becomes less a description than a metaphor: a place where memory breathes within growth, and where nature and the built world exist in quiet dialogue.

This exhibition is, in many ways, a love letter to Singapore.
When I look back, I realise how present this city has been in my studio for more than fifteen years. Its energy, its layers of memory, its constant renewal — all of this has remained with me, quietly shaping my work even when I am far away.

What strikes me each time I return is the intensity of nature: the lush vegetation, the tropical light, and the vibrant colours that saturate the city. Coming from a very different landscape, this sensory experience has marked me deeply. The light in Singapore feels alive, the colours are always shifting, and the presence of water and coast connects directly with my fascination with the sea.

I also wanted to share here the collaborative works I created with Shih Yun Yeo. Our process always surprises us — how two distinct artistic languages can merge into one. The Electric Series, our most recent collaboration, is especially close to me: charged with energy and vitality, it mirrors the pulse I feel in Singapore itself.

For me, Garden City is not only an exhibition but a way of giving back — returning a fragment of the inspiration, joy, and knowledge that this place has gifted me over the years.

BIO of Artist Alba escayo

Alba Escayo (b. 1981, Asturias, Spain) is a contemporary artist whose work explores memory and the dialogue between nature and the city. Educated in Bologna, Madrid, and Belgrade, she has developed an international practice shaped by residencies and exhibitions across Europe and Asia.

Through a poetic abstraction of layered marks and fragments, Escayo reflects on memory and transformation. Her works move between presence and absence, suggesting the shifting dialogue between nature and human environments.

She is currently based in Madrid, where her work continues to explore the intersections of memory, nature, and the urban landscape.

Website: https://albaescayo.com/ | Instagram: @escayo