What purpose do you think art serves today?
It’s different for every artist, so I can only speak for myself here. I investigate how individuals and communities imagine the future, and to see if there are certain applications to this research where I can show different methods in which we can redefine our lives beyond what is told to us that will make us “happy”.
Tell us more about your travels and how they inspire or conspire your works.
I don’t see myself as a tourist and I think that is a very important position to take when I enter a certain urban situation. The point is not to want to consume everything around me, but to form certain specific relationships to people and things. For example, I’m spending a lot of time in Hong Kong and Rotterdam this year, but I don’t feel the desire to assimilate anything. I spend a lot of time working in Witte de Witte Contemporary Art and Spring Workshop, where I am running a big project called Moderation(s). I meet artists and curators, we do workshops, I read a lot.
What inspires you these days here?
Random Access Memories, the latest album from Daft Punk. The third track “Giogio by Moroder” is awesome.
What can people expect from the exhibition?
You will encounter three recent works that I have produced, each revealing aspects of my use of photography. The exhibition explores the multivalent role of the camera in my practice. The main piece in the show is “A Short Story About Singapore (Volume 1)”. It is one of many works that utilizes photography to construct large-scale archives. Abandoning high-end cameras in favour of the cheap layman’s snapshot camera, I have distanced myself from the role of technician. I use a pocket-sized camera that may be used without attracting much attention from his subjects and surroundings. This new work sees me returning to photography as a means of constructing narrative.
The Part In The Story Where We Lost Count Of The Days (2) is on through Aug 31 at Future Perfect.
