Margins: drawing pictures of home

When does one recount or trace the beginning of a story? At what moment does the questioning or the search within the heart arise? Where does the line start and end to frame matters that are close to our home?

Margins presents the works of 15 Singapore photographers to bring home some of the quiescent topics of Singapore, and especially in this current times of uncertainties. The questions on our sense of belongings and otherness, the rootedness and dreams that we embrace, all these arise to lead us onto a reflective journey to explore for a deeper meaning within ourselves and the place we call home.

Familiar and recognisable landscapes and people are subtly mediated through the photographic lens offering us deeper insights into our surroundings and current issues. These artistic responses eloquently articulate our rich and diverse migrant histories, our blended cultural ancestries, our everyday living conditions – imagining beyond the margins of our own lives and into the lives of others.

Some of the photographs presented in the exhibition encourage us to question our understanding of belonging, and to understand better the lives of those who have worked hard to make Singapore what it is today. Other images reflect on the mundane and sometimes eccentric humour to be found in the city-state while others transform the uncomfortable polluted air of the annual haze condition into a beautiful monochromatic installation.

This exhibition explores our hopes and dreams for Singapore and the stories that help us define the places we call home.

Curated by Gwen Lee.