Artist Biography
Zul Mahmod (1975, born and based in Singapore) is recognised as a leading figure in a generation of multimedia artists in Singapore that emerged in the 2000s. Working primarily with sound, Zul creates works that explore its spatial, emotional and spiritual properties in response to sociopolitical and environmental concerns.
Formally trained in sculpture, Zul began integrating sonic material into his practice after he was introduced to computer music and intermedia composition—including field recordings, sensors, automation and electronics—in 2001. These influences inform his approach in creating immersive soundscapes that often combine the use of audio sculptures, performance and architectural elements onsite. From the mid-2010s, he began to incorporate everyday objects such as copper pipes in his work, assembled as moving structures that interact with each other, as well as the audience, to produce rhythms and melodies in real time.
Zul obtained his Diploma in Sculpture from LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore in 1997 and his MFA from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2023. His work is held in numerous collections including …
Notable exhibitions include Presentation of Works by Benesse Prize Artists in collaboration with Singapore Art Museum (2024), Benesse House Museum, Naoshima; Look to the Heavens (2023), Orchestral Manoeuvres (2021), ArtScience Museum, Singapore; Portrait of Landscape Era (2020), Fukutake House, Shodoshima; and SUNSHOWER (2017), National Art Center, Tokyo and Mori Art Museum, Tokyo. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including FUTURE (2019), 17th Art Stays Festival, Ptuj; Future Energy (2017), Expo 2017 Astana; An Atlas of Mirrors (2016), 5th Singapore Biennale; Think with the Senses - Feel with the Mind (2007), 52nd Venice Biennale; and Janken (2006), 2nd Ogaki Biennale.
Zul had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2021, resulting in the group exhibitions On Time: Adeline Kueh, Jason Lim, Ian Woo and Zul Mahmod (2021), curated by Marc Gloede, and Annual Special Exhibition: Second Movement (2022).