The Colony (2017-ongoing) is Marvin Tang's long-term research project into the impact of botanical institutions on the movement and migration of seeds, plants and people in the colonial era. Photographs of plantations issued as postcards during the colonial era are juxtaposed with the artist's photographs of sites where Singapore's major economic crop plantations once used to be. This work constitutes the point of departure for his subsequence excavations of the social, economic, and environmental implications of global plant movements and of the displacement of labour forces required to sustain plantation economies.

During the residency, Tang developed On Growth in Closely Glazed Cases which focused on the history and evolution of the Wardian case, a wooden case with glass panels developed in the mid-1800s that marked a revolution in long-distance plant transportation. In the span of a few year, the Wardian case became the backbone of botanical garden collections, plantation economies, and labour migration in Southeast Asia following colonial expansion. Transposing his interests from the space of historical archives into the realm of the physical, the artist constructed a version of the Wardian case and has been cultivating various plants within its closed confines. Conducted as a durational experiment, the case is presented alongside a video that captures plant growth over the period of the residency.

Of Weeping Trees examines the parallel narratives of Hevea brasiliensis, also known as the Para Rubber Tree, and plantation labourers, whose fates become entwined upon their arrival in Singapore in the 1900s. Through colonial postcards, contemporary surveys of former and existing rubber plantations, and the songs sung by these labourers, the exhibition unfolds connections forged over the contested ground of history, economy, and ecology [1].

The Colony (2017 - ongoing) is the title of Marvin Tang's long-term research project which examines the impact of botanical institutions on the movement of seeds, plants, and people in the colonial era. For this next iteration of the project, the artist intends to focus on the history and evolution of the Wardian case, a glass container for growing and transporting flora devised by British physicial Nathaniel BagshawWard in 1833. The direct precursor of the modern terrarium, this transportable receptacle proved instrumental in allowing the circulation of plants across the globe in the 19th century. Here, it is framed as a point of departure to excavate the social, economic, and environmental implications of planetary plant movements and the displacement of labour forces required to sustain booming plantation economies. During the residency, the studio is used to conduct durational experiments with natural substances and photographic materials and try our different modes of display [2].

_{[1] Marvin Tang, “Of Weeping Trees,” Marvin Tang, n.d., https://www.marvintang.co/of-weeping-trees.}

_{[2] NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore, “Residencies Programme, Marvin Tang,” 2021.}

A History of Thirty Nine Cuttings investigates the history of the Vanda Miss Joaquim and the selection process that led to it being the only hybrid National Flower in the world. This investigation also alludes to its alignment to national agendas and the use of flora as devices of national identities.

Hybrids is a chapter in A History of 39 Cuttings and serves as a proposal for a new national flower. One that draws reference to the strange amalgamation of technology and biology, natural and manmade that we encounter so often in our City in Nature.

Serving as a speculative chapter to the future of Orchids in Singapore, Hybrid proposes 39 Orchids that mimic our foreseeable relationship with nature, moving past lab based hybridisation where our new national flower becomes a symbol of our digitalised future and nature experienced as a graphic [1].

_{[1] Marvin Tang, “History of 39 Cuttings - Hybrids,” Marvin Tang, accessed February 23, 2024, https://www.marvintang.co/history-of-39-cuttings-hybrids.}

Hidden from sight, small plots of gardens and plantations were formed secretly within the state-owned forested grounds of Singapore. Camouflaged by the thick foliage that surrounds them, their existence is only hinted at by hear-says of people coming out of the forest with pots and plants.

Stateland documents these strange spaces that have appeared across the island, questioning their existence and the purpose they serve [4].

_{[4] Marvin Tang, “Marvin Tang Stateland,” Marvin Tang, accessed February 23, 2024, https://www.marvintang.co/stateland.}