Museums do not usually ask to see your ID.
However, this new exhibition at National Gallery Singapore does.
Opening on 24 April 2026, Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art is an R18 exhibition. It explores how desire, the body and sexuality have shaped artistic expression across Southeast Asia.
What to expect inside this R18 exhibition
This exhibition was made specifically for Singapore. It has not appeared anywhere else before. More importantly, it explores how desire connects with power, spirituality, social norms and personal agency.
The show features more than 70 works, including regional loans. It covers painting, sculptural installation, photography and video.
It also unfolds across three sections. As a result, visitors can see how artists have expressed, challenged and reimagined desire across different periods and contexts.
First, Asian Mythos and Ritual looks at desire through the sacred. In this section, the body connects with nature, spirituality and the divine.
Next, Conventions of the Erotic examines how artists reworked the body and its representation. It shows how they moved beyond inherited traditions and reshaped ideas of desire in postcolonial Southeast Asia.
Finally, Public Arenas and Private Interiors turns to sexuality, identity and social norms. Here, artists bring intimate and often marginalised experiences into public view.
Altogether, the exhibition offers a more layered view of Southeast Asian art. Instead of keeping viewers at a polite distance, it draws attention to lived experience, emotion and the politics of the body.
Image from National Gallery Singapore
Will they actually check your IC?
Yes. Visitors must show valid identification at entry. The exhibition only admits those aged 18 and above.
In addition, the Gallery does not allow photography or videography inside the exhibition. So if you plan to visit, be ready to experience it without taking pictures.
Exhibition details
Passion is Volcanic: Desire in Southeast Asian Art
National Gallery Singapore, Level 4 Gallery
24 April 2026 to 30 August 2026
10am to 7pm daily
S$5 for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents
S$8 for other nationalities
