Circular Art Economies, Relational Aesthetics and Circular Relationalities: Wang Ruobing’s Plastic Art Practice in Singapore

Tan Qian Hui

doi:10.55845/XJPF2169

Authors

Tan Qian Hui Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55845/XJPF2169

Keywords:

Relational aesthetics, Relational Art, Circular Art Economy, Circular Relationalities, Plastic Waste

Abstract

This paper seeks to foreground the role that artists can play in Singapore’s transition towards a circular economy. Taking Bourriaud’s concept of relational aesthetics as a point of departure, it contends that art projects that recuperate waste can help to close circularity loops by fostering relationships across stakeholders. While an ever-expanding range of R-behaviours has come under the purview of scholars working on circular economies, they have often overlooked the most fundamental ‘R’ undergirding circular practices—that of relationalities. The paper attempts to address this gap by bringing the relational into a productive conversation with circularity. It does so by mobilising Wang Ruobing’s artworks and art practice as a case study to show how socially and environmentally engaged relational art can extend circular economic frameworks beyond its current mold, thereby gesturing towards a circular-relational ethics.

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