Introduction
Since 2004, visual artists Lee Sze-Chin and Lim Kok Boon have used the holiday snapshot to collect memories of Singapore, striking poses in front of buildings or empty land. Their uniquely banal photography leads them to pose as tourists in their own country. Exploring snap shot aesthetics made popular by photographer Martin Parr, they investigate the premises of ‘going on holidays’, a middle class concept, and placing themselves as markers of history as places in Singapore are made redundant in the face of redevelopment. Though personal in origin, the works speak of a certain sense of national sentiment and nostalgia and borrowed memories. These add to the multitude of resistance and reactions one has when places we know and are familiar with are upgraded, announced for the en bloc scheme or demolished.
This exhibition is site specific, and the title a deliberate pun on the road name Commonwealth Drive. This title, Common Wealth, refers to the intangible assets, the collective memories we hold dearly. Hinted by the photographs and signboards, one is invited to trade stories, and be part of the memory of block 39A, Commonwealth Drive, Queensway, Singapore.
The flat is part of an en bloc upgrading project that symbolizes the nation’s wish for better housing, better lives.