The work in this exhibition is drawn from the ongoing research project “Territories of Territory Extraction,” which uses Singapore’s physical growth since 1989 as a register of the international sand supply chain in Southeast Asia. Across multiple interlinked publications and a field study in Singapore, Territories of Territory Extraction explores the multiple vectors of forensic architectural analysis used to expose Singapore’s relationship with its supply chains.

Drawing together work published in Faktur Journal, PLAT, Thresholds, and others, this Reading Room is an immersive environment for investigating the material and political ties that link architecture, construction, and geopolitical maneuvering in Singapore. Projects on display investigate the history and logics of Singapore’s sand stockpiles, locate the international fleet of vessels at work dredging and transporting sand, and construct a chronological index of the origins of Singapore’s coastline reclamation megaprojects.

As part of this exhibition, Drawing Agency organized the symposium “Medium Matters: Architectural Representation After Construction”, featuring presentations from Joshua Stein, Tami Banh, and Lydia Kallipoliti available on the MAS Context website.

Presented at the CityxVenice Pavilion at the 2021 Venice Biennale.

Chicago, Illinois

Territories of Territory Extraction is hosted at the MAS Context Reading Room, and is a partner program of the 2021 Chicago Architecture Biennial

Research for this project was supported by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts

Photography by Dan Kelleghan, courtesy of MAS Context