Museum visitors in Singapore have reportedly had difficulty keeping their hands off a wall installation consisting of dozens of mounted eggplants. The artwork, “Still Life” (1992/2025) by Suzann Victor, is part of the ongoing exhibition Singapore Stories: Pathways and Detours in Art at the National Gallery Singapore (NGS).
The Strait Times reported earlier this month that visitors had allegedly taken fruits from the 200-eggplant installation; it is unclear how many were removed. The museum has denied reports that there have been “continuous incidents,” but a spokesperson told Hyperallergic that signage reminding visitors not to touch the artworks has been installed in all exhibitions and displays.
“We’ve observed that many visitors enjoy engaging with Still Life by taking photos and experiencing it up close, and we hope this interest continues in a respectful way,” the spokesperson said, adding that the institution is asking for public “cooperation in preserving the artwork.”
Victor told Hyperallergic in an email that she is “aware of recent reports that Still Life was tampered with or removed during its display at the National Gallery.”
Victor, who represented the country in the 49th iteration of the Venice Biennale, said that the installation’s integration of organic materials “invites close engagement and close observation of its transition from freshness to decay over the duration of its display.”
“I have observed the look of disbelief registered on the faces of visitors, upon first laying sight on the work at NGS, and people even shouting ‘Are they real?’ during the install,” the artist said.
“They simply could not resist going up close to touch the glossy, smooth skin of the eggplants. Even sniffing them,” she continued. “More intriguingly, it is as though they were seeing eggplants for the first time. As though these were some alien life form that has been ensconced on the wall for all to witness.”
Originally exhibited in the 1992 exhibition Body Fields, decades before the eggplant became a suggestive emoji, “Still Life” proposes a feminist examination of gendered social spaces and the long-term unsustainability of patriarchal power structures.
Because the decay of the eggplants is an integral element of the installation, the fruits are intermittently replaced throughout their display.
Victor said that she and NGS knew that the work’s presentation in a public space with a lot of foot traffic would involve particular challenges. Still, they had not anticipated anyone to touch the work to the extent of damaging it or taking parts of it. The artist said she appreciates the museum’s efforts to protect the work and the staff’s diligence.
“However, the reality is that with public works, there are always limits to how much control can be exerted,” Victor continued. “These challenges highlight the delicate balance between preservation and the unpredictable nature of public engagement, which is, in itself, part of the ongoing conversation the work invites.”