Artist Statement:

Singaplural documents the 2011 Singapore General Elections which proved to be a significant chapter in the country’s history. The ruling People’s Action Party, or PAP, and their share of the vote fell from 66.6 per cent to 60.1 per cent last year. This meant four out of ten Singaporeans rejected the PAP. In addition, the six parliamentary seats won by the opposition were the highest since independence in 1965. Though Singaporeans are known to be uninterested in politics, these photographs indicate otherwise. Close to 50,000 people were reported to have attended such rallies. Citizens from all walks of life — regardless of race, language or religion — attended, listened and participated in the political process all over Singapore. Singaplural is a collection of photographs that explore the dynamic interaction of common people with their immediate environment.

Using a perspective control lens, these images offered a miniaturised and alternative perspective to the elections. Tiny-looking Singaporeans—in a country affectionately known as the little red dot—come together to listen to big issues that will affect their lives in the following five years, before they get to vote again. Common areas such as open fields and neighbourhood stadiums turn into political zones for a few hours, before these exact same spaces and the people that inhabit return to their daily lives. These photographs examine how such common, and sometimes overlooked, spaces have combined a plurality of people, perspectives and ideas converging into one location during the recent elections.