Is everything we ever wanted truly right here?
I think that is the core statement and counter-question which this body of work poses. These collages began as a four-month project involving both photojournalism and candid interviews with locals. I wanted to document the sentiments beneath our rapidly changing city, with all its inherent contradictions and idiosyncrasies.
Explain the process behind the title.
“Everything You Ever Wanted is Right Here” are actually the words hand-cut into a massive photograph of a local mamashop, which is the first piece of this series of collage work. Each artwork exists as both a statement and question to the viewer, bringing light to various social, economic and political tensions of our country in a funny and bold way.
What artworks will the readers be looking at?
Huge hand-cut photographs that tell the story of our own country-in-the-making, through a juxtaposition of image and text. In the mix is an 18-panel installation using photographs of Singaporean homes that I shot—ranging from government-subsidized one-room flats in Telok Blangah to mansions along Swiss Club Road. Half of them belonged to complete strangers. That work is an arresting, intimate look into a mix of objects and photographs which document what it means to be Singaporean.
What does making art about Singapore mean to you?
It’s endlessly fascinating. Singapore is one of those countries that appear flat or monolithic to the rest of the world. But there are depths within depths to who we are and what we struggle with.
Everything You Ever Wanted Is Right Here is on September 7-24 at the Chan Hampe Gallery, Raffles Hotel Arcade.
