In this day and age, motherland is no longer simply ‘home,’ just as home may not be the motherland. These three artists take on these concepts of home and motherland, re-interpreting the different meanings of place versus space, re-assigning value to forgotten landscapes and highlighting stories of immigrants who struggle to belong.

Mike Chang investigates familiar objects found in every home and explores the space between binary sets such as public/private and inside/outside, attempting to find the liminal line in each situation. The attempts often result in creating an even more ambiguous sense of the existing dualities.

Sherman Ong's work provides a glimpse into the private lives of Singapore’s immigrants, as they struggle to negotiate a place called home, fighting for survival and trying to weave themselves into the complex fabric of a society that may not always be as welcoming and accepting as it claims to be.

Robert Zhao's 'imagined landscapes' bring to light a forgotten scene of the past when Singapore was going through a period of great transformation. We are invited to perceive the raw, untouched landscape of Singapore before it was ‘moulded’ to be what it is, as we know it now.

Featured artists: Mike HJ Chang, Sherman Ong, and Robert Renhui Zhao.

-Chan Hampe Galleries

Image: © Robert Renhui Zhao