Exhibition period: 4 Jun 2009 - 4 Aug 2010. Artist and photographer Chris Yap explores what it means to be ‘Peranakan’ in our contemporary world. Whilst developments within the community have been habitually analysed as a Southeast Asian-Sino-Anglo amalgamation, Yap’s works prompt us to reflect on whether this hybridization has intensified, changed or evolved through interactions with global flows and contemporary culture. Using portraiture and still-life photography, aspects of the Peranakan as are commonly represented are juxtaposed against daily life and experiences. The histories of traditional Peranakan objects are considered, drawing attention to interesting and varied opportunities. What continues to be traditionally and exclusively Peranakan and what possibilities unfold moving forward?
To download: http://nus.edu.sg/museum/pdf/2009/OfFingerBowlsNHankies_2009.pdf
