Germans write better English

After two years of planning, Singapore 2006 is finally happening. From the unprecedented display of political correctness in the inaugural Singapore Biennale to the Orwellian combination of photo portraits and the tagline, “We are happy to have you here," the organisers plan to leave no doubt in the minds of the 16,000 visitors that the country does not know the meaning of subtlety.

With projects of such a national scale, the triumvirate priorities of corporate publicity are usually (though not logically), 1) hyperbole, 2) self-congratulation and 3) the cutting of unnecessary costs, such as the hiring of good copywriters.

The following is the concluding paragraph from the Introduction to the exhibition programme for All The Best: The Deutschbank Collection and Zaha Hadid:

“Global City—World of Opportunities”: this is Singapore’s motto on the occasion of the IMF World Bank Meetings. The title “All the Best” not only means that “the best”—the highlights of the Deutsche Bank Collection—is being shown: it is also stands for personal yearnings, social alternatives, and global perspectives. In a synthesis of avant-garde exhibition design, and young controversial works, this third anniversary show of the Deutsche Bank Collection reflects the fears and hopes of the 21st century. Ultimately, it also expresses a wish not just for art, but for the future of our global society: “All the best.”

This is a bad combination of two over-earnest domains——the kitschy, patronising language of local English-language art scene, and jargon from the corporate sphere. There isn't "synthesis" between exhibition design and the actual works of art, unless one believed in the symbiotic relationship between bread and jam; calling the controversial works “young” doesn't work as personification either. Explaining “All the Best” as “personal yearnings, social alternatives, and global perspectives” is hardly artistic conceit.