But I never thought that you'd trade your soul to the fates 2011 | Mixed media | 153 x 93 x 22 cm   artist statement In this series of works, I have looked into two of Singapore’s favourite pastimes and that is eating durians and following the plight of our national football team. Some people say that enjoying eating the durian is one way to identify an individual as a Singaporean. However, many of them are unaware, due to rapid urbanisation, the fruit which is native to our country is no longer cultivated locally, and about 80% of durians are imported from neighbouring Malaysia. In a way by their exportation of durians to Singapore, Malaysia has helped to build and foster the idea of being Singaporean. The monopoly of the durian trade also reflects a similar situation in which Malaysia controls the supply of portable water to Singapore, which further highlights our critical reliance to Malaysia to survive as a nation. The American celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain, likens the odour of the durian to the whiff of a dead relative, which also quite aptly expresses Singapore’s deep-seated historical ties to Malaysia. As soon as the Singapore football team won its last Malaysia Cup in 1994, the team was withdrawn from the competition due increased political tension and rivalry between the two countries. However, as a populist measure to reinforce Singapore’s national cohesiveness, which has been diluted over the years due to an influx of new immigrants, the Singapore football team will return to the Malaysia Cup in 2011. It is rather ironic, like the durian, Singapore once again require the ‘help’ of our noisy neighbour to strengthen ourselves.   CHUN KAI-QUN artist profile Chun Kai Qun is concern with the anxieties and desires of individuals living in contemporary society. He brings into play the art of miniature making, creating cataclysmic explosions, reminiscent of sensationalistic Blockbuster action flicks or video games. The perverse violence and gory carnality of the spectacle is trivialized and detached by means of miniaturisation in his work, highlighting the anesthesia that the decadent society has unconsciously induced in us. He received his art education, majoring in printmaking, from the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore. This year, Chun is awarded the NAC Arts Scholarship (Overseas) to pursue the Masters in Fine Art programme at Glasgow School of Art, UK from 2011 to 2013. Chun has actively participated in various art exhibitions and projects including Art Stage Singapore (2011), Utopia Highway at the Esplanade Concourse (2010), TransportAsian at the Singapore Art Museum (2009), Lost in the City at the National Museum of Singapore (2009) and the 4th Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial (Art Exchange Program) (2009). Represented by Fost Gallery