[Student-Led Tour] A Queer Gaze

Rodolfo Paras-Perez, From series of prints for Francisco Blagatas’ Florante at Laura, 1977; Woodblock print, 27 x 42 cm.

Queerness is slippery—a defiance of definition, or rather, a definition shaped by its very lack of definition. It encompasses those who do not fit within conventional cis-heterosexual narratives. Without such formal categorisation, how might we recognise queer bodies in art, or even in the everyday? A Queer Gaze: Seeing and Being Seen suggests that queerness is not just something to be seen but a way of seeing—one that shapes and reshapes the gaze itself.

This tour begins at Radio Malaya: Abridged Conversations About Art, introducing how artworks and artefacts can be read as queer and why such readings matter. On the Top Floor, the pieces in the Resource Gallery challenge the problematics of queer interpretation and queerness’ resistance to being read. This tension continues in Ng Eng Teng: 1+1=1, where abstract bodies further complicate the notion of queer visibility. Finally, the tour returns to the Resource Gallery to explore how even seemingly heterosexual narratives can be queered.

Through this journey, queerness is engaged as both subject and method—unsettling fixed meanings, resisting rigid interpretations, and opening up new ways of seeing.

Audience Advisory

This tour is only open to participants aged 18 and above. It contains mature themes, including (but not limited to) discussions of gender, sexuality, and interpretations of the human body in art. To ensure a safe and respectful environment for students, organisers, and audiences, recording, or any form of content capture is strictly prohibited. By joining the tour, you acknowledge the importance of protecting artistic expression and the integrity of intellectual exchange within this programme.