IN + BETWEEN: Singapore’s Post-Colonial Identity Through Food
Watch the demo reel and full view of the installation in action here, and a plate perspective here!
“IN + BETWEEN” is an imagined exhibition, examining Singapore’s post-colonial identity through the lens of food. With this project I wanted to present Singapore as an interesting case study to a global audience, of how food can be a key factor in the construction of culture and identity.
With a total land area of no more than 277.3 square miles, Singapore as a country is much smaller than its Southeast Asian neighbors (and even New York City). Despite that, the city-state has grown from third world to first in the 50 years of its independence; from a British colonial trading post to a global economic powerhouse.
As Singapore grows, along with it grows efforts to actively construct a national identity. As a young postcolonial country, what can be uniquely Singaporean in the global context that Singaporeans are acutely aware of? Validating the nation is important because the viability of it needs to be insisted on—both to an internal and external audience.
Food culture comes into play here as it has been the most successful in making Singapore cool in a recognizably global way, and it identifies itself as a culinary destination. Singaporean food itself is also evidence of the intersections of culture that are unique to the nation—through hybridity, a different kind of authenticity is born.
Thus, hybridity is the theme of this imagined exhibition—hence the stylization of the name “IN + BETWEEN”. Hybridity pervades and defines Singaporean culture and history, and in this proposed exhibition I wanted to focus on the cultural intersections of “local + international”, “old + new” as well as “local + local”. The provided brochure would give some historical context for each of these categories. With the content of this exhibition I aim to show one of the ways in which the postcolonial state of “in-betweenness” can become its own state of being as well.
The installation projection onto a table is meant to be an engaging way to present parts of the narrative, one that was inspired by and evokes conversations that take place over meals. Playing with a collage-like style, I want to show in the demo reel how the photographic images of food can be played with to communicate this narrative—as icon, symbol, landscape and even just decoration.