Many will remember being greeted by the sight of two large bamboo and rattan sculptures suspended from the ceiling as they entered National Gallery Singapore last year. The work, titled Cargo by Sopheap Pich, was commissioned for the exhibition Minimalism: Space. Light. Object, which ran from 16 November 2018 to 14 April 2019.

Pich was inspired by how the shipping container has come to symbolise both the shifting of commercial goods as well as the movement of intellectual ideas around the world. He chose to make the sculptures in the same exact dimension as actual shipping containers. However, in contrast to the opacity of shipping containers, Cargo appears light and provides a view through it, alluding to the supposed relationship between the interior and its surroundings. While addressing wide-reaching themes of global trade and capital, Pich’s sculpture combines traditional Cambodian weaving techniques and local Cambodian materials like bamboo and rattan, deeply grounding his work in a sense of place.

When the decision to acquire the artwork was formalised, the Collections Development team immediately began work on converting it from a commission into an acquisition for the National Collection. Following its return to Cambodia after the exhibition, numerous permits had to be cleared in accordance with international artwork transport regulations, and transport to the Heritage Conservation Centre (HCC), the storage and conservation facility in Singapore, arranged. Transporting Cargo was far from straightforward. The team spent weeks discussing the safest mode of transport with our colleagues at HCC, and eventually settled on shipment by sea instead of the conventional air route due to its size.

With the help of the artist’s studio, Cargo was collected from Cambodia in late November 2019. The artwork was dismantled into eight parts and transported to Singapore by sea, in what else but a shipping container! It was interesting to see an artwork which resembled a shipping container being transported in another shipping container.

More than a week later in December 2019, Cargo arrived in Singapore. To ensure its safety, we were on hand for its arrival and unpacking at its temporary warehouse space.

Cargo was temporarily stored on a raised pallet and covered with a protective sheet to prevent any potential water damage prior to its fumigation process.

In mid-December, prior to its delivery and storage at HCC, the sculpture had to undergo a process called the Controlled Atmosphere Technology (CAT) Bubble Fumigation. This specific fumigation method takes four to six weeks and eliminates any pests that might be growing in or on the organic materials that constitute this artwork. It not only protects this work, but also ensures that no pests infest other works in storage at HCC. Fumigation is a requisite in museum collecting, and perhaps even more so for museums located in a tropical climate like the Gallery. At the same time, it signifies an artwork leaving the artist’s hands and entering the public realm through institutional collecting.   

Due to the size of Cargo, the fumigation process was conducted at a warehouse space, with bubble sheets meticulously hand-glued into a bubble that fit the artwork.

Every week, the fumigation reading was monitored, and a log sheet was updated with the oxygen levels.

By mid-February, Cargo was finally delivered to HCC. The process of artwork ventilation, unpacking and delivery took two days to complete. Here, artwork handlers gently move individual components at HCC’s offsite storage.

Cargo in its new home, to be stored until the next time it is brought to the Gallery for public enjoyment.

We are thankful for the collaborative efforts between the artist’s studio, artwork shippers, conservators, curator, and the fumigation personnel in ensuring that Cargo was safely delivered to its new climate-controlled home at HCC. Learn more about artwork conservation, the transportation and installation of artworks, or the process of deinstallation from articles on Perspectives by the Artwork and Exhibition Management team.