Ever since I had to move out of my childhood home because some big corporation bought the land, I keep wondering what is home. With this project, I am trying to examine what makes Singapore so unique. Sometimes I feel like a voyeur peering into this unique country, other times I feel part of this whole craziness. From being in the United States for a year, I realised that a lot of Singaporeans lack the courage to question and think critically. Since young, most of us are being molded to conform to society, to not question authority. We were also taught that too much freedom brings chaos, like workers on strike, protests. However, in most Western countries, we are being seen as a restrictive, totalitarian country. Somehow, the citizens here are happy with status quo and not affected by how things are being run. What make us unique? Is it the Confucius Ideas we were brought up with?

In the coming fall, I am interested to find out what makes Singapore my home, besides that my friends and family are here. What are the unique and distinct qualities that cannot be found anywhere else. Despite being here for the past 21 years, ever since my house was demolished, I am still searching for a home.

These are just screen shots, so dont mind the cursor. The actual thing is saved as a .psd and will be printed.

This is a sketch for what I plan to do this coming fall. I want to make ceramic houses and form them into an installation. The ceramic houses will be done with red clay and glazed. The black rectangles will be digital frames that contain photos and images.

This project will be a continuation of what I am doing now, combined with other projects I've been working on for the past two year; which is the idea of home.

In Chinese superstition, red threads bind people together.

'Once a Jolly Hangman' is about the death penalty in Singapore. What the book aims to do is to provide a factual account on the people who got hanged, and those who unjustly escaped the noose.. But seriously, which system is always fair? Every system somehow or another has it flaws.

What I am really interested about is why is it banned? The government probably does not want outsiders to know the dirty secrets it is hiding. But seriously, the book was out in shops for months before it was being pulled out. Besides, I think the act of banning it combined with suing the author made it even more sensational to the public. Few people actually bothered to buy the book when it first came out, now its highly sought after. Most average Singaporeans read about the statistics provided and feel angry for a while, but after they resume their daily lives as though nothing happened.

tomorrow I will be attending the court session for Alan Shadrake, the author of "Once a Jolly Hangman." His book is on the death penalty in Singapore, making some people feel uncomfortable as dirty laundry is being aired. Hence, he was charged for defamation and contempt of court. Tomorrow's session will be interesting as I will get to see how stating facts in a book can get one charged, will it be a fair trial?

I am intending to make some sort of a guide book. It will be about the different places and the things Singaporeans are preoccupied with. I took Jackie's suggestion of reading some travel guides about Singapore, and found it very interesting. After reading up, it seems that most Singaporeans are apathetic about politics, not only because they are preoccupied with other matters, but also due to the fact that since elementary school we are conditioned to accommodate, agree and accept whatever that is shown to us. Our educational system domesticates rather than liberates. Still most Singaporeans would rather not rock the boat as we are a small nation. We cannot afford defiance, rebellion and constant questioning of government policies, in order to survive in this tough world. Even if we are taught to think and question typically, most of them are not willing to sacrifice their personal interest for the good of the nation.

Singapore before 1950

Singapore Now

Singapore in the Future