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

Rice Bowl by Suchen Christine Lim is a novel about the complexity of living in Singapore during the 1970s. Though the book is a fictional account of the protagonists' lives, I find many relations to the 1987's Operation Spectrum.

Operation Spectrum was launched on May 21, 1987 by Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) using its Internal Security Act (ISA). A second wave of arrests took place on Jun 20 in the same year. The security operation saw 22 young Catholics, social activists and professionals detained, without trial, under the internal security law, and accused of being members of a dangerous Marxist conspiracy bent on subverting the PAP-ruled government by force, and replacing it with a Marxist state.

This novel traces the events from the view of a Catholic nun, a priest, students and professors from the university. How their innocent involvement with helping the migrant workers landed them in politics.

This work is done by local artist Chun Kai Qun. Although it is very much related to my previous project, I thought that it is interesting to do a short write up.

Kai Qun is very much interested with the anxieties and desires of individuals living in a contemporary society. In his work, he often brings into play the art of miniature making, diorama making, creating cataclysmic explosions, reminiscent of sensationalistic blockbuster action flicks and video games.

He created an installation made up of highways and roads, suggesting that journey and search itself is where the utopian ideal is.

Remember in a few post ago I talked about how luck is very important? Under these umbrellas are people who help you decipher your fortune which you draw from the temple.

This deals with luck again. One must rub Buddha's belly in order to get good luck.

This man is reading people's fortune through their handwriting.



There is almost no beggars in Singapore, however, there are many old or handicap people selling tissue packets in order to earn a living.

Two posters I am trying out.. I intend to do 30 of this in A4 size.

Uniquely Singapore, everything relates to luck and striking the lottery.

i decided to do a series of photos/ posters using the Singapore Tourism Board's slogan of Uniquely Singapore.

here are the first two that I have done. This is just a try out. I kind of like the handwritten font, but will try printing them out next week.